Chaotic Hunter
by aLazyButSmartFanPJO
Summary: Percy Jackson is said to have died closing the Doors of Death. Everyone is devastated. After 20 years, a new enemy stronger than Gaea herself rises. He comes back to help. Or does he really? My first PERTEMIS story! Disclaimer: I own nothing.
1. Oh No

**Hey. So you'll probably hate me for not updating my other story, TLP. Well I was working on this, plus school. Yeah, I know, it's been a busy month. The thing is, I can't take this out off my head, and I felt the need to post this before the next TLP update. Anyway, I can't make promises, because (sorry bout this, TLP fans) I haven't started chapter 12 yet, and I can't possibly make that instantly in these weekdays. Suppose I don't have much work this week, I'll update this weekend.**

**Now without further ado, I present to you, my new PJATO story, A PERTEMIS STORY (yahoo! to me and fellow Pertemis fans!) Chaotic Hunter!**

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Chapter 1: Oh No

"Percy!"

"You go out. I'll be fine."

"No, I'm not leaving you!"

"You have to!"

Annabeth didn't reply as tears silently made their way down her face. She slowly shook her head and walked towards him.

"No…"

Percy won't have that. With tear-filled eyes, he said his last wish.

"Move on."

He pushed her approaching figure out of the doors and pulled. Pulled with all his might.

Tears streamed down his face.

Suddenly, he heard an angelic voice shout his name. He looked up quickly, expecting to see a curl of blond hair and dull grey eyes. But all he saw were beautiful, yet pained silver eyes.

The door shut close. The growling and hissing were more pronounced now. _So this is how I'm going to die_, he thought sadly. _But it doesn't matter, I'll fight to the death!_

Just then, monsters came out of nowhere, surrounding him with his back to the door. He tensed and raised his sword protectively. They charged at the same time.

* * *

She watched him.

Watched him heed his lover's safety instead of his own.

She saw him.

Saw his tear-filled eyes with her pained own.

She admired him.

Admired him as the best, most loyal, modest, powerful, caring, loving, faithful boy- no, man, she had ever known.

She liked him.

Liked him as a handsome, powerful, and humble hero.

She _loves_ him.

She loves him, for he is Perseus Jackson, hero of Olympus. The only man to gain the love and respect of Artemis. The most tolerable man in the whole universe.

And now he has died.

A wave of sadness overcame her as the truth dawned on her. She wanted to curl into a ball and cry, mourn, and make herself miserable, but he died for his lover.

For the demigods.

For Olympus!

She spun on her heel and released, at the same time an empousa disintegrated with an arrow between the eyes. She notched another arrow and shot, a glittering silver trail made its way into a monster brain at point blank. She killed monster after monster, rage and sadness and pain fuelling her like a bolt of electricity. She defeated every monster with renewed vigor, hoping to not let his death be in vain.

She couldn't believe it. Why was the death of a single man affecting her this much? She had killed thousands of men, yet why does this affect her so much? She even said she loved him! Did she really?

With all her heart.

Being a chaste goddess, who had made an oath that survived for many millennia- to never love, never marry, to be an ever virgin- that was very hard to say. And also being one of the most dangerous, and bravest goddesses on Olympus, she had to face it: the truth hurts. It really did.

But now that he's gone, all is in the past. All is history. With Perseus Jackson dead, there was not anymore a single tolerable man in the whole universe. There was not anymore a man who had gained a feminist goddess' respect; all will soon forget that the maiden goddess had loved a man. With him gone, the world would be dull and grey, and there will be no more love in the world.

No more love from the legendary chaste goddess, the great Artemis, the moon huntress.

The wild will be wilder, and more loose and ruthless than ever before. The number of dark nights and red moons shall increase. Hunters will have a hard time catching their prey, and longer and more painful childbirths shall occur.

Her domains will be in a time hurricane. No one shall notice, but everything will be affected greatly. Her domains shall be low and mourning.

_Oh, Fates, what has my Perseus done to anger you so?_

* * *

Annabeth knew it. She was sure he'd do that. She had tried to stop him, but he was just too stubborn, too loyal. These were one of the times- definitely the last time, she wept- that she hated his fatal flaw.

She hated it. Hated the world. The Fates. The gods. Everyone. Everything.

He was the person that keeps her going, flares her willpower. She had always been confident with him by her side. She had someone to watch her back, and had someone to fight for.

And he just sacrificed himself for her.

A hand suddenly rested itself on her shoulder; she must have been too preoccupied. She wiped her face and looked over, following the pale and scrawny hand. It led to a paler than normal son of Hades, with tear lines staining his cheeks. He looked down at her helplessly.

She understood.

Annabeth struggled to her feet with the help of the son of Hades. She glanced down at her numb foot. It doesn't anymore hurt; the mental pain clouded the physical. She glanced at her dagger and gripped it tightly that her knuckles turned white. She shall fight for Percy- die if she should.

* * *

The two ran back to the rest of the Seven, only to find them fighting for their delicate lives. A few of the gods were there as well, helping out with the two giants and strong monsters- the majority being in the original Mount Olympus. It was then that they noticed something was wrong.

There always was.

They were not holding up good. The three gods with them could only kill limited monsters due to the Ancient Laws. Though, they were each with at least one demigod with them to help out whatever strong enemy they were fighting. Hephaestus was with them, fighting off the giant Leon aided by his son Leo and a hunter who was a daughter of his. Hades was also there, aiding the demigods by summoning undead warriors to fight. And surprisingly, Artemis herself was fighting Gration with three out of the nine hunters she had brought with her. The rest were busy with the rest of the monsters.

They knew that this was only a part of the true monster army, yet already, it seemed endless. New monsters filled the empty ranks. And with Percy out of the question, they believed to have lost all hope.

The two didn't waste anymore time gawking and charged into battle. Nico summoned up another undead army of about 200, which was probably the most he could do without spending too much energy left to fight. Annabeth brandished her dagger like an insane knife-expert. She received a few cuts and scrapes, but none more than that. The others were fighting like demons, even Piper and Hazel. They were all witnessed to have tears in their eyes.

Seeing this, Annabeth intensified her fighting. Percy was already gone. She wouldn't let anyone else go.

That- she just realized sorrowfully- was a very Percy thing to do.

She ducked a thrust from a dracaena and swept her snake-like legs from under her. The monster didn't have time to react before her own spear was impaled unto her heart. She grabbed its shield and immediately bashed it onto the nearest monster. It swung its club to her left. She blocked with her shield which made her stagger from the impact. She felt a tingling behind her neck and spun around, holding out her shield protectively as it made impact just in time by a flying spear. She sidestepped to the right to dodge an attack from the back and decapitated the attacker, before she yanked the spear from the shield and whirled it around, disintegrating the monsters within her radius.

Annabeth took the second to breathe and look around. Now that they joined, she can say that they did a pretty good job in balancing the fight. Most of the monsters have been decimated. Leon was done in quick work, and Gration was double-teamed by Hades and Artemis and her hunters. She ran towards their direction.

Artemis fought in a blur of silver. Now that her Uncle was helping her, this should get easy. The foolish giant was already losing in the hands of her and her hunters alone, what more when one of the Big Three joined the fight?

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the daughter of Athena running towards them. She also noticed that most of the monsters were disintegrated, and knowing that most of the monster army was at the original home of the gods, she called out to Annabeth, "No! Get your friends and head to Mt. Olympus! You are more needed there than here, daughter of Athena."

The girl stopped in her tracks. She heard what the goddess said. No more questions asked. She quickly fetched the rest of the Seven and Nico, and ran back to the Argo II with them in tow. The second the warship moved and they settled in, she let out her emotions that she barely cotained during the battle, some given off as fuel to fight. Her friends huddled around her, their faces portraying basically the same thing.

And for a while, they treasured each others company, treasured the warmth that were still in their bodies before they went to the fight of their life- one that would most likely take away their wishes and obligations, their loves and inspirations, their dreams and fulfillments. Practically their whole life.

They would not lose hope. Even if they have nearly, they would never do.

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**I'd like to continue here, but I need your feedback at the moment.**

**Anyway before you ask, no, this is not that ordinary Chaos story. I think. I borrowed some idea from CourtingTheMoon, author of The Unknown, and it won't come out until later. Thanks for that, again!**

**Feedback is appreciated! ~Smartzyfan**


	2. Flame On!

**Oops. I completely overworked myself. Again.**

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Chapter 2: Flame On!

Annabeth woke up to a crash. She could suddenly feel weightlessness overcome her, and she felt nauseous for some reason. And she doesn't become airsick.

She stumbled to the single round window in her cabin. She gripped the sill to steady herself and peered out. She paled and whirled around, her hand on her dagger. She walked up to the door and opened it, steadily keeping her balance in check. She sprinted up the hallway and out to the deck, where the others were gathered.

And they were fighting humongous birds.

She cursed herself for over-sleeping while quickly surveying the surroundings. The sky was still on eye level, but she felt like flying. Looking up, the skies were getting darker and darker, plus the thunder and lightning from Zeus.

Realization struck her. They were crashing. The Argo II was failing.

She called Leo to perhaps try to maneuver the ship to crash in a safe distance from the army gathered before the original Mount Olympus while she took his place. She deflected a beak aiming at Jason, who was electrocuting the birds into KFCs. She sliced at its wing, severing it from the body before the bird fell from the sky completely.

She fought off some more Stymphalian birds from hurting her friends and received a couple of pecks and scratches. And before she knew it, the impact of the landing almost threw her off her feet if she had not been ready. She leapt off the deck and slammed into one of the huge birds. She drove her knife into its skull and yanked off, dropping roughly to the ground.

Strangely enough, the rest of the birds fled towards the direction of the original mountain. She turned back to her friends to see them patching up their wounds, helping each other up to make the other in shape for the coming battle. Except for one.

"Where's Leo?" she inquired.

Jason shrugged unknowingly. "He's probably fussing over his-"

A loud banging sound cut their conversation. They turned, and what they saw made them furrow their eyebrows worriedly. Behind them was a huge metal part of the Argo II, preferably the part that covers the engines. Piper was banging on it looking down, while Hazel was trying to lift it with her power over the earth.

The two rushed to them as Frank transformed into an eagle to keep watch and follow them. Nico followed suit. Suddenly his shoulders slumped and Hazel's concentration broke at the very moment. Piper stopped.

"What..?"

Hazel shook her head frantically. "No. He isn't here. He's gone. He's," she glanced around worriedly. "Disappeared suddenly!"

Nico nodded solemnly. "I can't feel his presence back there. But he's still alive," he added quickly seeing the horror-struck expressions on his friend's faces. "We just don't know where. It's like the earth-" He stopped abruptly.

They all looked at him. His face was paler than usual, but not much more than earlier. He looked like he was trying to swallow a shield. "The... the earth swallowed him. Gaea took him."

Jason's eyes widened. Oh no, what was the Earth goddess planning for his best friend? He couldn't stand to think Leo being hurt. Gaea already took his other best friend; she isn't going to succeed this time. Quickly, he drew his gladius just as the others drew their own weapons. No more is going to be lost.

No one.

They stalked towards the noisy battlefield. The air had a peculiar scent of evil to it, as well as the scent of wet and dry forest soil. The noises became louder and louder, decreasing the ominous feeling a bit before increasing up a notch more than the last.

Once they stepped into the battlefield, their eyes zoomed onto a figure tied to a rock twice his size, conscious yet unmoving. Adjacent to it was another rock the same size as the first, but it was empty. Behind the boulders was a large chasm, driving straight to the earth's core. Their blood boiled when they saw a gigantic, bulk figure right in between. He has his own set of bronze armor, and his eyes were a shiny, polished marble color. His dirty, green hair was decorated with all sorts of swords, war axes, and daggers, some of which were bloody or bent. The demigod's eyes hardened when they thought of from whom those weapons came from.

"Ah, my precious seven," Porphryion cooed in mock adoration, "Come to help your little parents at last?"

In their haste, they failed to notice the ongoing battle around them. The gods were present, fighting off monsters and giants with the rest of the hunters helping. The gods were fighting the giants who were supposed to oppose them, but they lacked a demigod to help finish the job.

And they still failed to notice now, only watching the giant's eyes dart from one of the prophesized demigods to another, until they stopped on Annabeth and he frowned confusedly. This doesn't seem to be a trick, as the demigods could see his expression was indeed genuine.

And it confused them as well.

"Where is Jackson?" he asked them, although his gaze was still glued to Annabeth's.

The daughter of Athena blinked, unshed tears seen in her eyes. "Don't rub it in," she growled angrily. "Release Leo. Now."

Porphyrion raised an eyebrow. "Rub it in? What would I 'rub' in?"

They glared at what they thought was fake innocence. "You killed Percy!" they exclaimed, and for a while the world went silent. The sounds of battle were suddenly lost in the humid atmosphere. Time seemed to slow, as the foolish giant thought this over, and the demigod's anger only grew when he gave a booming laugh.

His laugh seemed to make the ancient land quake. The sky appeared to gather storm clouds. The heavens went angry. He stopped laughing and rewarded them with a smug smile.

"That is very amusing, for pawns like you, I must say; but I can't deny that your lot has always been," he declared arrogantly, though now he seemed to look at them with wariness.

Jason glared at his father's giant enemy with increased hatred. "Shut up! Release my best friend, now!" he bellowed angrily.

Porphyrion's gaze drifted to the son of Jupiter, who stared back at him defiantly. "I will release him in due time, Jason Grace," he told him, much to his annoyance. "But you still haven't answered my question. Where is Jackson?"

"We told you- you killed him," Hazel replied a bit stiffly, not used to saying the statement over and over again. "He was locked up in Tartarus."

For a while his blank white eyes appeared to show panic, before it turned to acceptance, and then once again became smug pleasure. "We'll get the next demigod in line then." He patted the rock that had their friend Leo tied to it. "The rise of the Earth will not be thwarted by a single, worthless demigod. In fact, he just made it easier," he grinned, showing his crooked teeth.

The sounds of battle slowly began to reach their ears. The clangs of metals, the thuds of bodies, the falls of dust, and the works of magic. The sound of metal through flesh occasionally made a disturbance. Seeing only red, the demigods charged.

They each went with their godly parents who were fighting their own giant enemies- except for those ones who had theirs still back at the House of Hades. Nico and Hazel fought and defeated surrounding monsters, trying to decimate the army with their powers. The rest joined their godly parents- namely Jason, who went on his way frying monsters while trying to reach his Greek dad; Piper, who charmspoke and brained monsters with Katopris while her mother did the exact same thing; Frank, who transformed into a dragon and shot waves of fire-breath while making his way towards Ares; and Annabeth, who basically massacred every monster that crossed her way while sprinting towards her mother.

The boys fought like demons, and the girls- well, they fought fiercely yet gracefully unlike she-demons, the heads of which the six had always toppled off their bodies.

They didn't want that to happen to them, of course.

To make it short, the battle had to be a blur from the painful past. With the help of the heroes, Hippolytus, Thoon, Eurtyus, Mimas, and Pelorus had their essences sent back to Tartarus after being defeated by Hermes, Apollo, Dionysus, Hephaestus- when he came back- and Ares, respectively. Pallas, Agrios, and Enceladus were yet to be defeated. The monster army had mostly been out as well. Only four giants remain, and Gaea had yet to rise.

The demigods believe they were in for success.

Or nearly, should I say.

Whilst Zeus was distracting Porphyrion, Jason made to help Leo out of his current predicament so he could at least help out. He sneaked past the giant and in front of the rock that holds his now awakened friend, and began to untie him. He was sure that he'd get out just fine, but Leo believed to think otherwise.

"Um, dude?" he asked uncertainly. "Are you sure this isn't a trick? I'd gladly die for you, you know..."

Jason shushed him. "That's the problem! They're using you as a sacrifice to awaken Gaea!" he notified as he tugged on the knot, feeling defeated but not giving up. He wondered why the fire-user still hasn't burned the thing; it feels like rope, that's for sure. "Wouldn't you hate yourself when you know you're the reason for the gods to die?"

Leo shrugged his shoulders. "Gods don't die."

Oh how he wanted to beat the sarcastic sh*t out of him right now.

But then as soon as he untied the last knot, the ropes went around him and this time he was the one tied to the boulder. He cursed himself for his stupidity; why didn't he just cut the rope instead of untying it? Panic was visible in his body language. He struggled to draw his gladius.

Leo panicked as well and tried to burn the rope. But just like it did earlier, the flame had no effect on the rope. So instead, he helped Jason and took the former praetor's gladius, and proceeded to cut the rope with it.

He wondered if he just didn't know how to use a Roman sword, or the rope was _literally_ metal, because it did _nothing_. No effect at all.

By then, the king of the giants had noticed them and blasted the closest person with electricity, which unfortunately was Leo, and he flew several yards back. The giant seemed pleased with his work.

"Perfect. Just what I planned!"

Jason felt fear strike him. He had planned this? But why did he... It struck him. Of course! He had taken Leo in order to lure Percy, which probably explains why he didn't know that the son of Poseidon was killed. And the next demigod in line wasn't Leo ... it was him!

Well sure, just like Leo said, he'd be ready to die for his friends and for the sake of the world. The world, not the earth; because, I mean, this is mother-freaking Gaea we're talking about!

Okay, let's rephrase that. He wasn't going to die for freaking Mother Gaea. If he could, he'd kill himself right now just to stop her rising, but he doubted that it would do anything right now. And the prophecy said _To storm or fire, the world must fall._ So maybe, he was the storm, not Percy, and his world was about to fall.

Ha-ha. Funny.

After must've hearing the statement, the rest of the gods turned to their direction with apprehension evident in their eyes. The other three giants- Pallas, Agrios, and Enceladus- have been slain with the help of Ares and Artemis and her hunters- who had recently joined the fight. Porphyrion was the only one left.

Piper gasped. "J-Jason.." She charged at the giant, her mind blank with rage. The bane of Zeus merely summoned his spear and swung at her, giving her a less painful treatment than Leo, but mostly similar.

"You are powerful. But I want a more powerful specimen to sacrifice to my mother!" he bellowed as the storm clouds rushed in, angry and showing off lightning.

There was an interesting turn of events. The gods and heroes attacked the giant, who was doing his best to defend himself while waiting for a chance to snatch up his target. But eventually, he managed to pick a certain daughter of Athena off the battlefield and chanted a ritual.

"I, Porphyrion, son of the Earth and Sky, king of the giants, offer you, Gaea, goddess of Earth, the lives of these demigods. Let their blood seep into your cracks, and give you power to awaken! Hail, Mother Gaea, goddess of the earth!"

A bright light emanated from the abyss, surprising almost everybody. The ground sounded to hum with power. The air smelled distinctively of wet earthen soil. And the earth… the earth was trembling.

Jason and Annabeth began to scream. The pain was awfully unbearable. It was like the hottest fire was burning you from the inside and out. It made you want to wish for a quicker death.

Leo knew that he had to do something. In a way, Jason had practically traded himself in to save him. And Annabeth fought with her life to get Jason back, indirectly saving him as well. He won't let his friends die, after what they've done to him.

The winds started to pick up. And before he knew it, he had charged the figure that the light was forming, regardless of how it almost makes him blind. He felt himself go warm, and so he knew he had fire covering him. He shut his eyes. _At least I knew I had succeeded..._

The fire-user tackled the slender figure that had been forming. It was solid enough to be touched, and fragile enough to be attacked easily. The eyes had begun to form at the same time, and all he saw were a pair of completely black pupils and forest green irises. And for some reason he could not fathom, something told him that they used to be a vibrant neon green.

Not knowing the connection to the situation, he emptied his thoughts and awaited his death.

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**I don't know if doing that has good or bad outcome, but only you can tell me how it went. There was supposed to be more, but.. I think I can say I'm as evil as I'm nice. *insert innocent smile***

**So thank you for the feedback! Or feedbacks! ...is that even a word? It's not in the Fanfiction dictionary..**

**Anyhow, thank you for giving this story a chance, the ones who avoid or simply dislike Pertemis stories, thank you very much! JUST ME and Amazing A, your reviews made me laugh. Thanks to EnlightenedElementalWarrior for your... idea? hypothesis? I guess the former works. And thanks to anyone else who wanted this story to continue. It gave me encouragement! (ouch. big word)**

**And what else.. Oh! I know I should've ended the Giant War right there, but I think it'll be too long and I don't post 'too longs'. I reckon the war will probably end next chapter (which is in two weeks) because there's still something to mind before I get on my own plot. So yeah, just be patient and see. :]**

**REVIEW! SAY NEEDED CORRECTIONS, IDEAS OR WHATEVER AND THANKS! ~Smartzyfan**


	3. What The!

**Yay! I updated! So this... is a semi-exciting chapter. Depends on you. Well then, BEHOLD!**

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Chapter 3: What The?!

Everyone looked on in astonishment as they stood rooted to their spots, watching the lowly mechanic- now a greatly respected hero, they reckoned- bring the earth goddess and himself towards the Earth's magma-heated core- towards their deaths.

Before long, the chasm mended itself and looked like the land was never driven through by a meteor.

Porphyrion blinked, failure screaming his name as its top victim. "No…" he murmured distractedly, before it turned into an all-out scream. "NOOOO! MOTHER!"

Athena used this as an advantage and plunged her spear right through his chest, through his earthen heart. Frank and Nico snapped out of their stupor and finished off the giant by an explosive arrow through the head from Frank, and Nico slicing off half his body. The giant's remains crumbled to the ground in the form of rocks, and then they disintegrated into golden dust, and finally dissolved out of thin air, taking its essence back to Tartarus.

And for a while, silence reigned the battlefield. Most gods bowed their heads in respect for the fallen heroes, while the others cried silently, like Hephaestus, Artemis, Poseidon, who had lost their own. The rest of the Seven, however, did not speak nor act, in too much shock to do anything.

Zeus took charge and announced, "The fallen shall be given a proper burial worthy of a hero of Olympus. The gods shall have a meeting in the new Mount Olympus once we transport the heroes. We will discuss some... matters concerning some of our heroes."

Releasing Jason and Annabeth from their binds, he took his Roman son's and Greek daughter's arms- after telling him he wanted to go with her brother- and vanished from sight. Just like that; no bright light, no lightning, no dramatics. The loss of the Hero of Olympus must've affected him greatly.

The other gods took this as their cue. After reviving Piper, Apollo disappeared in a bright light with the other injured hunters, followed by Aphrodite at his side, willing to check on her daughter's condition. Artemis gathered her remaining hunters and the fallen ones with teary eyes, and transported them to the hunters' camp, before teleporting off to Olympus. Athena helped her daughter up and made sure she was alright, before transporting her to the foot of Half-Blood Hill and following her half-sister. Ares and Hades did the same and went on their way. The rest of the gods followed immediately after Zeus.

The heroes appeared at Half-Blood Hill. They didn't look nor speak to each other because of the overwhelming grief and sadness, but headed straight towards the pine tree.

They thought this day had been at its worst in their lives- perhaps they had been wrong.

The camp looked like it had gone through a hurricane. Everything was a disaster. The cabins were either damaged or completely burnt to the ground. The Big House was wrecked. Half of the forest was burned down, while half was uprooted or destroyed. The dining pavilion was almost toppling. Other buildings and activity areas had fatal signs of damage to them.

Amidst all this, the hearth in the center of the cabins was still burning brightly.

Near the forest, among the ruins of the mess hall, was a makeshift infirmary. Apollo campers, nature spirits, satyrs, and other uninjured demigods bustled about, helping with their friends' recovery. Their eyes zoomed in on Chiron, whose arm was on a sling as he sat quietly in his wheelchair.

The heroes' eyes clouded with rage. What monster had done this to them? Who was it?

They walked up to him, intentions in mind. People glanced at them as they approached, and most of them gave happy smiles before growing confused when they couldn't find Leo or Percy. They tried their best to ignore them as shame ate away on them, not being able to bear the thought of failing to save their friends.

Chiron looked up and smiled sadly when they stopped in front of him. They each approached to give him light hugs, before asking the question that has been plaguing their curiosity. "What happened here?"

The centaur sighed forlornly. "The Romans have attacked."

Annabeth practically exploded, despite the grief still lingering. "WHAT?!" she exclaimed loudly and angrily, ignoring the looks sent her way. "We literally save the whole world- _them_- from Gaea and her minions and this is how they repay us!? What nerve!"

She began to stomp off, probably to teach a lesson to the Romans for destroying her home, but Jason held her back. Still holding her lashing figure, he asked surprised, "When exactly? Do the gods know already?"

As if on cue, Hermes teleported in with a small satisfied smile on his face, oblivious to his surroundings. That is, until he spoke. "Alright demigods, gather ar-r-r-rou..." he trailed off, his smile fading. "Oh snap." He said as his form flickered briefly, before becoming more solid, and then he disappeared, the demigods forgotten.

Before anyone could say anything, though, he reappeared on the same spot, startling the demigods around him. This time he said nothing more as he beckoned the rest of the Seven, Thalia, and Nico to come forward. They disappeared off to Olympus, in the Olympian throne room.

The demigods bowed as Hermes flashed to his throne. Annabeth did so as well when she got out of Jason's hold, albeit grudgingly since she was still angry and sad about the recent events to be forced to do anything. Most of the gods gave her sympathetic looks instead of noticing her stiffness.

Thalia noticed that the hunters where here too. She wondered why all of them were a part of this meeting? Was this some kind of rewarding ceremony? The gods don't look so happy, so she guessed not. And... She glanced at Artemis. Why was she crying? She usually doesn't cry whenever she loses one of her hunters- not this openly, at least.

Her father started speaking, crashing her train of thought. "Before we start on more pressing matters, it has come to my attention that these heroes have done well, and shall be rewarded for their efforts in the war," he announced, and Thalia was stunned. She could've guessed that the gods have planned this already, but even Athena looked shocked. Her father wasn't this generous before... was he?

"Who argues that they are not worthy?" From the corner of her eye, the daughter of Zeus can see that her friends and the hunters almost stumbled in surprise. She almost did, too. But when she looked at her father, she didn't know if it was a good sign or a bad sign that no one was influencing him into doing this. His eyes were narrowed and clear. His voice was loud and sure. Now, as ridiculous as it sounds, she found herself worrying about her father's mental health.

But going back to the council, she could see the hint of bewilderment in their faces, but no one raised their hand. Maybe- she recalled faintly, when her father flashed her and her brother out with absolutely no dramatics; it was Percy's death that had him acting like this. How powerful he had been; already dead and still doing the impossible. She frowned. She missed her cousin already.

Seeing no objections, Zeus nodded and called Thalia first, since she was his eldest child.

The daughter of Zeus did as she was told. The king of the gods gave her the choice to become an immortal, as he gave the son of Hades and the rest of the Seven as well.

Thalia had accepted to become a full immortal lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, to which the said goddess had nodded at her appraisingly. Nico had accepted as well, and that gave him the title as the Prince of the Underworld. It had probably been the first time he showed even a ghost of a smile (no pun intended) since his beloved cousin's death.

Hazel had declined, feeling obliged to not escape death's hold for eternity, but instead asked for her curse to be lifted. In a way, a descendant of Poseidon _did _lift off her curse. Percy was that descendant. Through his death, they have fought more fiercely and determinedly, and so they had won the war. The gods, especially Zeus, seemed to have transformed because of this, thus giving her the offer of immortality, which she altered into a wish instead.

Frank had followed, of course not wanting to be separated with the daughter of Pluto, and asked nothing but to take off his life's connection to the small piece of wood.

Jason had accepted the rank of immortality earnestly. He'd sworn: to never abuse it and; his loyalty to Olympus. After Piper had recovered, and knowing that her boyfriend had accepted, she'd done so as well. They had decided to stay in Camp Jupiter once the issues between the Greeks and Romans are fixed.

And Annabeth- well, Annabeth, from then on, had wanted to see Percy again, so she declined. But then she realized that she had nothing to do once they came back to camp, after it'd be repaired, so she opted for an adventure- anything to keep her busy doing something instead of thinking how he'd died saving her, which makes it all more painful.

Joining the hunters of Artemis is her number one option- she'll have plenty of fun, have a- possibly- long happy life, and at the same time a chance to see him again once it ended. Unlike when she accepted the offer, she will still be able to see him in another time.

Artemis' impulse was to grimace, but managed a small smile. Great, just what she needed, probably the greatest reminder of him around her every time. Not that she didn't want the daughter of Athena as a hunter, don't get her wrong; the maiden was a wise and skilled warrior. She would be a perfect addition to her group. And for a second there, a _very_ scary second, she had _actually _thanked the Fates for giving Perseus a break that gave her the service of one of the greatest heroines of all time.

Life could be worse.

"With that aside, let us talk about more... touchy subjects," Zeus announced, to which the heroes tensed. What will they say when they have been asked for a retake of events? Thinking of their failures are hard enough, much less speak it.

"Athena has a theory on what happened to both heroes lost in the Seven." He nodded to the goddess of wisdom, and she stood up.

"From what I have heard about Perseus Jackson, and what happened to him before this, I say that he might still be alive. He has gone through hell and back with my daughter, hasn't he? There is a chance that he lives," she proposed, before turning to Hades. "Or is he...?"

The Lord of the Dead shook his head, much to everyone's relief. "Perseus is still alive. Although he-" Hades stopped abruptly, and everyone waited in baited breath for him to speak once again. Nico and Hazel looked questioningly at their father, along with the others, not being able to feel what he had felt. Their hopes though, were lowering, and they had a terrifying suspicion on what it may be- unlike the others who don't have a clue of what's going on.

Hades suddenly closed his eyes, and his face twisted in concentration, before he sagged and leaned back on his throne miserably. He shook his head. "He's.. he's gone."

* * *

Uproar had overcome the throne room. Disbelief and incredulity flooded their expressions, although pain and grief ruled out to be the most visible. Poseidon had released a sob, while others shouted in protest, demanding proof. Some, such as Zeus, Hera, and a few others, remained as calm as they could get and tried to settle everyone down. Amidst all this, Artemis had snuck out and fled.

She had not known what to think of his death; one second she was fatally grief-stricken and heart-broken, and the next she was utterly thankful. The man- yes, she accepts and emphasizes that he was a _man_- had been a source of her doubt towards the attitude of the whole masculine population. When she'd heard of what he'd done, she began asking herself questions, like, _Are there some other men like him? _Or, _Aren't all men arrogant, selfish, and disloyal?_

_What makes him different?_

_Many things_, she thought it over. How had he captured her heart, then? Or did he really do that? Or was it Aphrodite's doing? That last part had been unclear; of course it wasn't the love goddess' doing, she had worked very hard to get him and the daughter of Athena together. Then again, she and Aphrodite always had their spats. She could be playing with her feelings, a _goddess_', as ridiculous as it sounds.

Artemis let her thoughts calm with a sigh. Perhaps she shan't dwell too much on thinking of him. It sounds unhealthy. Her tears had dried since she sneaked into her tent, and she felt like releasing more, but she was already too tired. She lied down on her cot, taking in the comfort she hadn't felt since the past decade, and let herself drift off to Hypnos' realm.

* * *

Or at least, it's what she thought.

Instead of a dreamless sleep like she had expected, she found herself standing in the middle of a maze of bookshelves, which had a nice and dark forest theme engraved in dark wood that looked as though it came from the forest within it. When she looked closer, most of the books looked to be of war and architecture, and a few others of archery and wildlife.

Confused to be in a library of all places, Artemis started to wander around, looking for something to be of interest. She had brief stops to glance at a few books, but nothing really caught her attention that much. Besides, something compelled her to keep moving. She felt it. Something... important was waiting for her. And she was getting anxious.

For what seemed like hours, she wandered aimlessly through the maze of bookshelves that appeared like a knowledge labyrinth. She was about to give up and throttle Morpheus to let her out, when she _finally_ arrived at the heart of the library.

There was someone there, looking impatient on waiting for something... or someone. Their back was turned, but still looked oddly familiar. Who was this? Is this the one who called her into this dream? Those things only happen to heroes, and she was a goddess. Or perhaps... this was a different scenery unknown to her?

She stepped into the room, purposefully adding a stomp in her step to catch their attention. They turned, and she saw it. Her face contorted into a look of shock and recognition, and she gasped in disbelief.

* * *

***gasp* Oh no. Cliffhanger!**

**Now, I don't know if I'm right about the Hypnos and Morpheus thing; but from what I know, Hypnos' domain is sleep, while Morpheus' is dreams. So they pretty much control your mind while you're asleep. Creepy, huh?**

**I guess you'll expect the others' reactions about _his_ death, what really happened to _him_, and what Artemis has seen. Admit it, you all know that Percy didn't die. It's the cliche thing, where someone suddenly appears before he does die. HAHA, I'm not doing that, I tell you!**

**Soooo tell me what you think! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sooo.. um, bye! For now.. ~Smartzyfan**


	4. Oops, Wrong Door

**Hi! Extra EARLY chappie! I was in a soooo good mood. And I was getting excited. Enough said.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Oops, Wrong Door

He lunged and stabbed a Cyclops in the eye, then spun around and sliced off a dracaena's head. He twisted his body to the right to avoid a leaping hellhound, held on to his sword tight and whirled it around, decapitating any monster within four feet of him.

The monsters kept coming. He had expected that. After all, he kills them here, and they reform here. The only problem was, he was only one man, and these were hundreds of monsters. And he couldn't reform here either.

_I won't give up_, he thought with gritted teeth. _I'll make it out alive when the time comes. Back to Annabeth._

Mentioning her name gave him a wave of strength. For what felt like days, he killed and slayed and defeated monsters. Everywhere, they attacked. And every time, he defended himself. It felt like he was fighting an endless battle. His energy was draining. His strength was wavering. His willpower was crumbling.

A giant appeared before him. It held a crooked grin like it knew something he didn't. It stalked up to him leisurely, as though it had all the time in the world to dispatch him. He was too busy to wait for it and was still slaying monsters, but he made sure to watch his back.

All of a sudden, everything froze. Time stopped. Literally. And all that was moving was the giant.

He looked around in panic. Kronos couldn't have done this, could he? From what he knows, the titan's essence was thoroughly spread, and shouldn't be able to reform in at least a few centuries. Or maybe there was something powerful that has the same ability as the Lord of Time?

He inwardly shuddered at the thought, not being able to do physically. He had hoped that this will be the last war he would be fighting, but, not again! He glanced back at the giant, who was now within sword range. Well, if he can't get out of this, then there will be no more wars for him, right?

He mentally slapped himself. _No_, he berated his own thoughts. _I told myself I won't give up! For Annabeth..._

He struggled to break whatever was binding him, but nothing worked. He was stepping on sandy ground, slightly hot from the surrounding magma. So cross out the water in the list to help him out. He looked up fearfully at the ten-foot giant, who had raised his club to strike. He refused to shut his eyes. _Well, better to die boldly than dying cowardly_.

But then after the mighty weapon hit his head, his world turned black and he felt numb. After a few moments waiting for the DOA sign to pop up, he saw no such sign, but instead got momentarily blinded by a bright light.

He rubbed his eyes trying to rid of the feeling, before opening them slowly and checking his surroundings. Surely, this was no DOA Recording Studios. The only thing he could see was the ground below him and himself, because of some sort of a spotlight above him. It was like in those scenes where a criminal/hostage was questioned in a middle of a dark room with a lamp above his head. He was no criminal, so he assumed someone else had taken him.

"Hello?" he called. His hollow voice echoed in the dark room. And then- well sure, he'd expected a response, but not _that_ kind of response.

"We've been expecting you, Mr. Jackson." Five different voices declared from all around him, making him jump back in shock and panic. Three were female, and two were male. He didn't know if the expecting bit was a good sign. Usually, when someone told him that, he'd assume they're some monster or god. But they didn't say his full name, so he didn't know what to think. Maybe all of this demigod nonsense was a dream and some crazy kidnappers who (are crazy) think they have him in their hideout or something? With life, you'll never know.

He managed to regain his voice and asked, "Who... who are you?"

The one in front of him gave a cough, and his breath came out as fire. _Really_ hot fire- hellfire- though he had no idea how he knew that. He stumbled back impulsively, feeling for his pen, but his pocket was flat. Right at that moment, he saw the outline of a guy. The only thing he caught a glimpse at was his mouth, and it was quirked into a smirk. It wasn't evil though. It was... playful?

Suddenly, the same guy released a pained yelp, and an earthy female voice chuckled. He couldn't shake off the familiarity of the voice, the laugh. But before he could think about it, another female voice- this time more powerful and ancient- directly to his left spoke. "Quit with your Perry Johansson scenes, Son. You're scaring him."

The guy grumbled. "The mortal movie was just so fun."

"Oh, stop your whining," the first female chided. "You're not helping."

He cleared his throat, hopefully drawing the attention of whoever was conversing around him. "I'm still here."

"Yes!" Another male voice- this time to his right- exclaimed. "Perseus Jackson! Yes, the greatest hero of all time. We've been waiting for you!"

Unable to restrain himself, Percy blurted out, "Waiting for me to die?"

The males laughed, not that he hadn't expected them to. Of course they would, given the stupidity of the question. "No, no, no!" the guy in front of him exclaimed, his chuckles still dribbling out of his mouth. "We're waiting for the right time to fetch you!" the guy clarified, and Percy got a familiar feeling that he'd always been feeling when he's around his Wise Girl. He missed it already.

The son of Poseidon looked around curiously, not that all satisfied to only see blackness. "So... why am I here? Who are you?" he asked the people around him.

"Oh, our bad," drawled a new female voice from the other side of the guy in front of him. The darkness around him slowly dispersed, up until all of it was completely gone and he could see clearly. Surrounding him were five people. _Ahem_; actually, he wasn't sure if they were. He could feel their power rolling off him like heat waves in a desert. He felt... considerably _weak_, around these guys. He figured, that even if only one of them were to stand beside him, he'd feel like a puny ant being compared to a boot.

And just after he thought that they weren't normal; that they were superpowerful beings, oddly, he recognized them one by one. But it wasn't through memory, no; they were not in the mythology that Annabeth teaches. It was through... through information that somehow found themselves into his brain. Like it was implanted there all his life.

"You're Aether," he recognized, as he pointed to the sandy-haired guy to his right. Aether gave a grin that lit up the whole room; that would make Apollo's megawatt grins small and dim. "See, Grandma? He recognizes me!" he told the woman to Percy's left. Okay, he still had to refresh his brain to remember the grandmother of Aether. But before that.. He turned to the woman next to the primeval god of light.

He recognized her immediately.

Strangely, when he reached into his pocket for his pen, this time it was there. He plucked it out and transformed it into a sword, pointing it threateningly at the goddess. His eyes narrowed at her, daring her to make a move. There was a look of guilt on her face, and though Percy- again- didn't know where he took the idea, but something told him that she meant it. But if so, then why..? Why did she... take him away from his peaceful life?

"I'm sorry Perseus, let me explain-" Gaea tried to reason, but Percy would have none of it.

"Save it," he growled. "What's there to explain? This is all _your_ fault! You took away a year of peace from me and now you've killed me! You took me away from Annabeth, _forever!_ She's probably accepted immortality now that I'm not there to hold her with me. Now I won't be able to see her again!"

The earth goddess opened her mouth to reply, but the son of Poseidon didn't choose to stop. "And then what will you say? Huh?" he mocked angrily. "That it wasn't supposed to happen? That you were corrupted? That you weren't in your right mind? You always had been!"

The goddess of earth let him take a few deep breaths to calm himself. She understood his anger toward her. Her actions had been unacceptable; she had expected her mother to shun her and make her fade, but instead, she gave her a second chance for redemption: a thing she was grateful for eternity. The first hard task that she had to go through was to make the son of Poseidon hear her out, and possibly forgive her if he could.

"Perseus, I-"

"Give me one good reason on why I should listen to you," Percy told her in a deadly calm demeanor. What was she trying to explain, anyway? Her actions had already explained what she wanted! _A world wherein monsters and giants rule over kingdoms where demigods are made slaves and mortals are slain for entertainment. A world where Mother Earth rules above all._

He couldn't understand the fact on why the other beings around him hadn't attacked her yet. Was it possible that they were enemies too? It sounded silly. Why weren't they making death threats on him then, if they truly were enemies? _Or_ maybe they're stalling him. Villains always love to do that.

As if reading his thoughts, the guy in front of him chuckled darkly. The sound was like crashing and breaking glass plates into walls repeatedly, and it gave him shivers down his spine. "Oh come on, Jackson," he chided lightly, and for a second he felt totally at ease before his nerves acted up again. "Lighten up. We're not your enemies. In fact we're your new-"

The woman beside him elbowed him sharply, and he hissed, earning him a devilish smirk. "Fine, fine woman! I won't spoil it."

Percy blinked at them. "You're Tartarus, the god of the abyss," he noted as he pointed towards the dark-haired, handsome guy with the playful smirk a while ago. Tartarus grinned at him and nodded. "Glad you know me, kid."

The son of Poseidon turned to the woman, and bowed his head slightly. "And you're Nyx, goddess of the night." The goddess beamed at him, pleased with the amount of respect he gave her. But she waved the bow away, and he straightened. Aether and Tartarus pouted. "Why didn't we get _that_ much respect?"

Nyx smirked at them. "Because you're men."

The two immature gods grumbled, while Percy stiffened his posture and turned back to Gaea, who looked at him apprehensively. She took a breath and said, "Because, Perseus-"

"Percy."

She almost smiled at his stubbornness. "Because, Percy, you are not dead."

* * *

"I want _proof!_"

"That can't be true!"

"Percy _can't_ die!"

"_LIES__!_"

Shouts of protest were probably heard all throughout Olympus, resonating from the throne room. There were obviously a lot of violent reactions- this being the number one example- about the greatest hero of Olympus' apparent death, whereas the other new hero of Olympus was quickly accepted and respected. And, well; people can't really blame them for not believing his death so quickly.

He had been the guy who always seemed to attract trouble, but somehow manages to always get out alive. He's the guy who Athena had thought to be doomed by his fatal flaw, but he managed to save both the world _and _his friends. He's the guy who proved Athena, the goddess of wisdom, the wisest, _wrong_. He's the guy who kept doing the impossible: change the gods, change Zeus, live through Tartarus, turn down godhood _and _live.

And still, he did yet another impossibility.

To die.

The king of the gods had controlled everyone to calm down, and offered to discuss the issue in a more peaceful matter. The others couldn't do anything but to agree.

He turned to his brother, eyes narrowed in uncertainty. "Are you sure about this... madness, Hades?" he asked carefully. "Are you sure that you claim true?"

The Lord of the Dead nodded. "I am certain, brother," he confirmed, before narrowing his eyes at him. "And it is not a madness. It is a sane fact."

Zeus continued to stare at his brother before releasing a weary sigh, slumping down on his throne. He turned to Apollo. "Do you have anymore prophecies?" _I hope not_, he added miserably in his mind.

Apollo closed his eyes and concentrated, before opening them again and shaking his head gratefully. The demigods let out a thankful sigh. "Not in this decade, at least."

The follow-up statement didn't really help with their stomachs.

The king of the gods nodded and cleared his throat, looking around for anymore people who so wishes to speak. And then he noticed the empty throne beside Athena.

"Where is Artemis?"

* * *

If Percy was drinking something right now, he'd probably spout that out to an unfortunate person next to him. He looked at her incredulously, finding the idea absurd.

"_Excuse me?!_"

Aether sighed in exasperation. "She says that _you're not dead_, Percy Jackson," he deadpanned. "Need I say more?"

"Yea- no- but-" he stuttered, and then shook his head to get rid of the feeling. "I got hit by that thing." He pointed to an oversized tree branch that looked exactly like what the giant had used; which had just appeared out of nowhere, by the way. Not that he cared or noticed. "And I died. And you took me before my ferry ride."

"Actually, we took you before you got hit," Nyx quipped up unhelpfully.

Percy waved his hand dismissively at her, as though he were the god and Nyx was the mortal. The goddess appeared unfazed by the what-should-be disrespectful gesture though. "Yeah well, you still took me."

"But that doesn't mean you died," retorted Gaea. He glared at her stubbornly, not believing a thing they said. "You're still alive, Perseus. And you can still come back."

The son of Poseidon perked up at this, momentarily forgetting his grudge at the earth goddess. "Really? How?" he asked her excitedly.

She eyed him skeptically. "You will need to train first," she told him, much to his confusion and annoyance. "When the time comes, you'll be able to get back."

"What do you mean _train?_" he inquired. "When? What time? Why would I have to?"

"That is for me to answer," the woman to his left spoke up for the first time, and for the first time he turned to look at her. She was unlike any woman he had ever seen. And when he meant _unlike_- trust in him; he'd seen many unlike things in his life- he meant it like, _super beta extraordinary_. Like, a one of a kind.

She was familiar to him; he recognized her- vaguely. But he can't seem to place a name. "Who are you?" he asked hesitantly, afraid to offend this superpowerful and ancient being. But he was rewarded with a reaction he hadn't expected.

She face-palmed, while the other gods around him laughed. This time, he did not know what there was to laugh at. His question was definitely not stupid to him. Or maybe there was something on his face? He reached up and felt his face, trying to find the misplaced _undesirable_ thing that stuck on it.

"Oh no, no, there's nothing on your face," the still unidentified woman said, much to his relief. He let his hands drop to his sides as the laughing of the other gods ceased around him. "It's just that- ugh. Why can't you mortals always recognize me in this form? This is my original form, for heaven's sake!"

Percy scrunched his eyebrows in concentration. So the woman has another form? And what did Aether call her- _Grandma?_ But the god of light doesn't have any grandparents other than... oh, yes. Forms. As in, physical forms. That's why he also recognized her.

"You're Lord Chaos, creator of the universe," he breathed, before blinking and adding quickly when she raised an eyebrow at him, "Um, I mean _Lady_ Chaos. Sorry."

The creator sighed and nodded. "It's fine."

Percy cleared his throat, trying to quell the awkward silence that followed. "So why do I have to train?" he asked confusedly. "Can't I just go back and live my life back to the way it was before?"

"You can..." Nyx replied. The son of Poseidon's eyes brightened. "If only you had before Hades announced that you're dead."

His eyes dimmed and he glared at them accusingly. "You said I wasn't dead!"

"You aren't," she agreed. "We just made it look like it. We sent that giant."

He continued to glare at them. "Then why didn't you just make the giant take me instead of acting to kill me and scaring the crap out of me?"

"To have Hades think that you're _really _dead. If we just took you right away, they'd try to find you. Or worse, they'd suspect that you're up to something. We wouldn't want that," she explained.

Tartarus smiled innocently. "Now where would be the fun in that?"

Percy growled, but before he could do anything, Chaos interrupted, "Anyway, as we said before, you need to train before you can get out of here," she explained. "And before you ask, we're in a meditation room in my palace, which is in another planet probably a billion light years from Earth." She smiled sweetly at him, as if daring him to punch her now and escape- and maybe die.

"Well why do I have to?" the hero of Olympus asked in an almost whiny tone.

Gaea rolled her eyes. "Well do you want us to just kick you out, maybe let you swim your way to your home planet? You'd die before you even float in a second."

Percy thought about it. Of course, the gods around him made it very clear that whatever he does, he can't escape from this new planet without taking whatever training they wanted to give. It was either train or die. But why did these gods care about him so much; if you really call it that? Why did they want to train him? And then he shuddered mentally at his next thought, _Is there going to be another war?_

He swallowed hard like he was swallowing a sword. If he so happens to agree here, what would happen to Earth? What if his friends were in danger? What if another war was coming, and he won't be able to help?

_Why was he here in the first place?_

Was he going to be used as some kind of... secret weapon? Bargaining chip? Soldier? Spy? Errand boy? Jester? Gladiator?

Shaking his head, he went for the huge question. "What is the real reason I'm here?"

The gods glanced at each other in silent agreement, and Chaos transformed into her male form and turned to face him. "Perseus Jackson, I have chosen you to be my heir."

* * *

"I saw her, Father. She snuck away."

Apollo told his father, still confused beyond belief at his sister's actions. He knew her. His sister had not been one to flash out whilst in a meeting. Nor to sneak out while others are in turmoil. She was either the one to protest, or the one who stays neutral within arguments. Not one to flee during any.

It may be because of the son of Poseidon. Or any of her hunters that had also passed. But because of all the things the boy has done, who other person more powerful than him could've caused this? It was him, and him only.

But why shall his sister act so... different, at the death of one male? A _male_. If it were her lieutenant, or perhaps one of her hunters, he'd understand, provided a glimpse of his sister's attachment to her adopted daughters. But why, a male?

He narrowed his eyes in thought. This can't be another Orion. Well, given that the boy was already dead, it couldn't be, of course. But this was another guy they were talking about. Probably the most faithful man in the universe. So if he ever captured her heart, he won't hurt her with any infidelity. But- ugh, why was he thinking of his sister's love life right now? It is not the time for that!

Zeus raised an eyebrow at the god of the sun. "But why..?"

"Maybe she is just tired," Poseidon sighed in sympathy. "I am too, with all the things that happened today. Can we call it a day?"

The king of the gods glanced around for a moment, before turning back to his brother and nodding in agreement. He stood up and addressed everyone, "You are dismissed."

He flashed out, followed by the rest of the gods, leaving the heroes and hunters wondering why on Earth they hadn't bothered to notice them.

* * *

The second time he would've sputtered out some saliva was right now.

"What... what do you mean _heir_?!" he stammered, still shocked at the newfound information.

Chaos rolled his eyes. "Heir. A noun meaning_ a legal inheritor of something_," he defined sarcastically, and this time, Percy rolled his eyes in exasperation. He never would've thought the creator to be this... cynical... in a not-so-humorous way.

"No! What I mean," he sighed, choosing his words carefully to somehow lower the stupidity level. "Is that why am I the heir? Of all people, why choose me?"

"Because, Perseus Jackson-"

"You know, with all due respect, _Creator of the Universe_, I also created something trending. A nickname. It's Percy."

Chaos reminded himself that the boy in front of him does that; he does that on a regular basis- to mock, annoy, or spite gods. And unfortunately, that includes himself.

"Fine. Percy," the latter smiled smugly and looked at the creator expectantly. "Do you know who is the greatest hero to ever live? The worthiest hero of all time? The most selfless, and strongest hero to ever walk the Earth? Do you know?"

The ancient immortal was obviously hinting on something, but being the idiot he is, Percy didn't notice. "Um, Achilles?"

The creator face-palmed. Again. And the other gods around him howled with laughter. He had actually forgotten that they were listening to them in the first place. Oh well, no harm done.

Chaos was shaking his head. "Also the densest hero of all heroes, if I may add," he muttered under his breath. He looked back up at the son of Poseidon, who was looking at him confusedly, probably wondering what he'd done wrong. He still looked so naïve and innocent. But when the time comes, that will soon change to a look of... power... strength.. Oh, and intelligence.

"It is you, Percy Jackson."

He blinked. "M-me?" he stuttered, glancing at the gods around him for input in the matter. They only gave him looks of approval, which seemed to make him uncomfortable. "Me, the g-greatest hero?"

Chaos sighed and changed back to his original form. "Yes, child," she answered shortly. "Have you not seen and realized all that you've done for the world?"

The son of Poseidon shook his head curtly, so she touched his forehead with her index finger, and sent images. Memories and the spectacle of his whole life from toddler years to teenage years, up until the present day. He saw himself fight the first evil in his life at kindergarten. He saw himself swimming with sharks in fifth grade. He saw himself get claimed at his first capture-the-flag. He saw himself take the weight of the sky from Artemis. He saw himself come out alive from the iceberg. He saw himself fight before his so-called death.

All the things that he had done that looked rather insignificant at the very moment, now appealed as a heroic achievement for him. It was just now that he realized that his actions had done many good to others. Back then, he intended to only do what looked right to him. Even after his _death_, he knew he had inspired his fellow demigods to keep fighting- in honor for him, he guessed.

But now that he was gone, will he still be able to do good to the world? As the heir of Chaos? In what way? Because when he fully inherits Chaos' powers, domains, and abilities, he'd be immortal; he won't be able to help directly anytime he wanted.

That was the downside. The upside was that he could do literally anything and everything as the Creator of the Universe. So what will he choose? To accept and be trained as a heir of Chaos, to only leave and help once training is finished, and eventually become immortal only to stop; with limited time for his friends at Earth? Or to decline- to die and go back to the Underworld, with his old deceased friends, to wait for someone that would never come?

"Well? What is your choice?"

Percy took a deep breath and looked up at her: a super powerful, ancient being whose powers would soon be his. He knew what he had to do.

"I accept."

* * *

"So for the mean time, you would sleep here until you're strong enough to be a true heir of Chaos, when you'll be transported to a bigger room specially made for you."

He sat on his bed, relishing the softness and comfort it gave. He looked up at her questioningly. "I have a question," he started. "Can I, like, visit people in dreams? I wanted to check on Annabeth."

Gaea nodded. "I believe so," she confirmed. "You are out of Morpheus' power now, so you can control what your mind would show you while you are asleep. Just think of the person, and when he or she is already asleep, they will dream of you; and when they aren't, they will be drawn to the nearest couch or bed or whatever and feel compelled to sleep."

Percy nodded; her explanation made sense. "Alright, thanks. You can go now."

When the goddess left, the son of Poseidon immediately fell back on the bed, a groan of content escaping his lips. He hasn't slept in a bed for days already. And the soft bed with the occasional cool breeze kind of made up for it.

As he closed his eyes, he thought, _I want to see the love of my life, and meet her in a place where she will enjoy herself. _And with that, he drifted off to dreamland.

A scene flashed before his eyes, and after focusing, he saw that he was at a library. He couldn't stop the grin from his face. _Perfect, now I'll just have to wait for her._

While waiting, he was driven by curiosity to the books. Although he knew exactly what would be the contents- architecture, he couldn't help himself. He slid one out from between a stout hardcover book and a leather-bound one. He looked at the title, which was in shiny, bronze Greek letters. It read: _The Secrets of the Seven Wonders_.

Huh. He figured that the library would have that. He returned the book and took out the leather-bound beside it. This time, the letters were engraved into the cover and were a shiny silver. It read: _Survival Tips for Hunters and Soldiers_.

It made his eyebrows shoot up. Survival tips? Well sure, he understood the soldiers part, provided that her mother was the goddess of war and battle, but _hunters?_ A horrifying thought struck him; what if she had become a fully immortal hunter of Artemis? Would it be worth it to come back?

He returned the book and walked slowly back to where he appeared, pondering the question over. By accepting this... ridiculous offer (he still hasn't believed that he would be the heir of the creator of the universe), he knew that he would still be able to go back and live with his friends, with Annabeth- after he'd explained some sort of excuse to how he had been 'resurrected'. He accepted just to come back to her. But what if she doesn't need him anymore? That she doesn't want him to come back?

He'd come back to this planet broken. Depressed. Feeling unworthy. Is that what he wanted to happen to him? No, he wanted to return feeling happy and bright. Feeling like he had just won the lottery. Feeling like a purposeful person.

Can that happen?

Nothing is impossible. Heck, he died; that's impossible. Er, _difficult_ to, um, do.

Someone stepped loudly from behind him, crashing his train of thought. His eyes brightened. Finally! He could hug her again! He spun around, eyes widening with excitement, until he saw who it was.

Her hair was too dark, almost to the extent to be properly identified having dirty blonde hair. She was too short, five feet two instead of five feet seven. And her eyes- her eyes were a shiny silver, not a stormy grey.

Artemis.

And she had a face of absolute shock.

He had a feeling he had too. Why was she here? Wasn't Annabeth the one supposed to be here? But maybe- no.. Oh no... she _can't_ be a hunter! Is that it? The reason why Artemis was here was because she prevented any dreams from entering his Wise Girl and went in herself? Oh no. He had intended that only Annabeth would know his secret. His plan wasn't going well. In fact, it already had failed.

His nerves were acting up. "L-lady Artem-" he began, but his voice choked when she tackled him into a hug. He hadn't even felt embarrassed of the choking moment because of the shock. He pinched himself as best as he can with her in his arms. He felt nothing.

If he could slap himself, he must have done it right now. _Of course_ it's a dream. But he could control his own dreams, and what happens to them. He had done it so everything would go on as it goes. And fortunately or unfortunately, _this_ goes. He hadn't controlled this. He really didn't.

He felt wetness on his left sleeve. Um, was this really happening right now? Maybe the person was some impostor. The goddess Artemis he knew doesn't cry. Or at least, it's what he knows. Awkwardly, he reached out and patted her back comfortingly, letting her release it all out. After a few minutes, she spoke.

"Perseus?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Lady Artemis," he agreed. "It's me."

She pulled away and studied him, making him slightly uncomfortable under her intense, calculating gaze. And after a few moments, a sharp _pak!_ sound echoed throughout the library. He jumped back and held his stinging cheek- which wasn't supposed to hurt, by the way.

"What was that for?!" he asked angrily.

Artemis glared. "For letting me think that you're dead," she growled, and he felt guilt eating away at him. "How are you here? Where are you sleeping?"

He hesitated. "Um, I'm..," he started. He had wanted to lie, wanted to tell her that he was already dead. He opened his mouth to say more, but the words somehow stuck themselves in his throat. They wouldn't come out.

Is this how he wanted it? For her, and _only_ her to know that he was still alive? No, he had intended for Annabeth to be. _Annabeth_, not the man-hating goddess. Could he trust her? She was known for hating males more than anyone else. She should be the one not to trust him, not the other way around. But with his situation, he can't tell who to trust. He trusted only Annabeth. Only his Wise Girl.

What will she say when she finds out? What if she tells the other gods about what she knows? It's risky to trust her with this. _Really _risky. She followed her father and supported him just as much as Athena. She could divulge what she'd find and he would have to hide away for all eternity, away from them, and he won't be able to help in case of a war. _Or_, a really low possibility, wherein she would betray her father and keep the information to herself.

He would've chosen not to, but her eyes seemed so... trustworthy.

Percy cleared his throat nervously. "Um Artemis, I'm going to tell you something really important, and you have to promise me to not tell anyone. I won't have you swear on the Styx since you're the first one I ever trusted with this information and I don't know who else if you betrayed my trust." The goddess looked stunned beyond belief. "So please, Lady Artemis, do me a favor," he pleaded.

Artemis looked on in disbelief. She was the first one he'd trusted this information with? She felt appreciation and love bubble up inside her. So that means that she was his most trusted person in his whole life? It seemed impossible! It should've been his girlfriend, or his father. So why was _she_ called here, instead of either of them? Although it was the right thing, she felt displeased by the thought.

"W-why tell me? Why not Annabeth, or perhaps Poseidon?" she asked skeptically.

The son of Poseidon flinched at his father's name. "Oh yeah. I forgot about him," he mumbled, shamefully looking at his feet. "But Annabeth- please don't be offended by this- truth be told, she was the one I called for. But for some reason, instead of her, you came. I wanted to tell her what I would tell you, because I trusted her the most. Beside you, of course," he added quickly after seeing the look of offense on her face.

"So you called her instead of me?" Artemis asked, visibly deflating at the thought.

He pursed his lips, thinking of the best words to say. "Um yeah. I mean, look at this place. It's her favorite place," he ventured, gesturing around at the bookshelves. He turned back to her. "But the place smelled of wood instead of olden books, and there were books of hunting in there," he continued, eying the goddess doubtfully.

She looked up at him. "And why would that be?"

He shrugged his shoulders uncertainly. "I don't really know," he admitted. "All I did was to think this: _I want to see the love of my life, and meet her in a place where she will enjoy herself,_" he so obliviously recited, not noticing the goddess' face reddening. "And, um, I don't know how you came in."

And then he shuffled his feet nervously before looking back up at her and asking, "Tell me, did you stop her?"

Artemis recoiled at the statement. "Stop who from what?"

He looked even more nervous than before. "Annabeth. Did you stop her from meeting me?" he asked, before realizing that he chose his words poorly, so he quickly added, "I mean, uh, did you do something to come in of the dream instead of her? Because, you know, you protect your hunters from men, _if-_"

"Wait, how do you know that she's my hunter?" she asked suspiciously, thinking that maybe he was spying on them in the first place.

But to her surprise, he cringed. "Y-you mean... she _is_ a hunter? She took the oath?" he asked almost fearfully.

She nodded tentatively.

His face promptly fell. He fell back onto a chair that she could've sworn wasn't there a second ago. He buried his face in his hands. "Oh no.. I'm too late.."

Artemis frowned sympathetically and proceed to comfort him. She whispered soothing words into his ear while patting his back as he sobbed quietly into his hands.

"Shh," the moon goddess murmured. "Why don't you tell me your story so I can help you?"

She didn't really know what came into her- the man-hating goddess, to comfort a man. But this one was real. A real man. He was special to her. She would help him the best way she can, just to show him what she felt for him, even if the man didn't know and was too oblivious for his own good.

* * *

**WHOOPEE! LONGEST CHAPTER OF ALL MY FANFIC STORIES! :)**

**Yay! Achievement =) Ya know, I was supposed to cut it a bit, but I saw that I can't cut anything without taking out most of them, so I let it be. What d'ya think? Should I post this long chapters (provided that I'm very enthusiastic to write) but I guess will update a bit late than usual, or the usual length (meaning, the unlucky chapters that I kinda wrote out shortly)? (I don't make polls, so don't even bother looking)  
**

**So you knew what happened. Who Artemis saw. What happened to Percy. OMG I'm so excited. Ha-ha. I guess you'll see how Artemis will react, do, and feel about Percy's secret. And the truce, the reactions, I think I'm going to do that too. Oh, and how could I forget, Annabeth's initial life in the hunt =)**

**Stay tuned! Feedback please! ~Smartzyfan**


	5. Of Trust and Union

**AHH! CHAPTER OVERLOAD!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Of Trust and Union

The demigods and hunters arrived at their own camps. The hunters had chosen to come back to their camp to continue giving their sisters their proper burial rights. Thalia, however, chose first to come with her brother and friends to help explain things to the stubborn campers, as did Annabeth. Their fellow hunters understood them and agreed.

They stepped inside the border. As far as they've remembered, the campers were still in their previous places; only a few made to do new tasks. Annabeth went to stand at the center of them all, for some reason stumbling a bit because of sudden drowsiness. Thalia steadied her. "Are you okay?"

She nodded wearily, running the back of her hand in front of her eyes. "Yeah. I really need to get some sleep after this," she muttered, half to herself. She squared her shoulders. "Attention, everyone!"

"Attention!" The campers spun their heads to look at her. Most of them looked on in amazement at the new silvery glow surrounding her, making them wonder what had exactly happened at the throne room of the gods. And again, they searched for the two missing heroes. A feeling of confusion and apprehension unfurled within them, at the same time curiosity plagued their conscience as to what happened, where they were, and why they weren't here, or something along those lines.

Annabeth glanced down at everybody. She gulped nervously. "So.. Good news or bad news?"

The crowd deflated at the last words. They had assumed that all was well; at least no new big problems or any of the sorts. But of course, life isn't all rainbows and ponies. But please, _please_ Fates, just one, at least _one_ or two decades of peace.. Why did she ask, anyway? Usually, Annabeth just says it right then and there, as though whatever news she was about to deliver was not worth her time and attention. But now, she... she actually _asked_ for consensus. Aren't children of Athena supposed to be... proud? Like they think they could do anything without any help or input from the others?

There _is_ something major happening, people. Clear as day.

A good thing, not bad; hopefully.

"Bad news first." They replied as clearly.

The daughter of Athena nodded, and then suddenly, her expression turned grim. She glanced around at everyone. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus; he, well... he kind of..," she faltered. Ugh, if she was already so much affected by the fire-user, what more if she talked of Percy? Heck, how will _they_ even react?

"Lagged back?"

"Was left at Greece?"

"Incinerated by the gods?"

"Is flying the Argo II back?"

"Burning corpses at Olympus?"

Each suggestion was more hopeful and desperate than the last. It was like they knew what happened to him, judging by their worried and panic-stricken faces. Annabeth only closed her eyes to avoid seeing their hopeless expressions, and shook her head negatively, sadly.

It was so silent; you could hear a pin drop. The campers stared at her open-mouthed. After about some time, they closed their mouths shut and bowed their heads in respect, their grief overflowing. Connor looked like the most affected. His brother was already taken from him, but also his partner-in-crime? The Hephaestus kids were all crying silently. Nyssa then looked up at her, tears brimming her eyes.

"H...how?" was her grief-stricken inquiry.

Annabeth smiled sadly at her. "He died a hero. He was the one who saved us all," she replied, before looking down. "_To storm or fire, the world must fall._"

"What about Percy?" Katie asked from beside Connor, who was crying into his hands while the daughter of Demeter consoled him. "Where is he?"

Every demigod who had gotten back from Greece avoided everyone's eyes, even Chiron's who was now listening and staring at them with a pained frown. It was then that people understood what Chiron meant by depressing, as he explained his role as an immortal trainer. You'd watch children come and go, fight and hurt, and eventually die. Most of the time, in front of you.

It almost always makes him wish that he was never immortal. Dying. Ending. So he would get to comfort and stay with his fallen students—such a grotesque phrase to use. Or perhaps, a regular mortal teacher who teaches very mortal students, students who die under normal circumstances, and live in normal everyday routines: wake up, clean up, go to school, study, eat, come back home, relax, sleep. Not _train, train, train._

"He's... he's..," Annabeth broke off, sobbing and choking. The campers looked on in astonishment. Their day had been officially broken. Forget the celebrations that they'd drove off the Romans. They'd first torture the monster that killed their leader, and _then _they'll celebrate.

Several campers stepped forward to comfort her, many with their own share of tears. Some who stayed back looked at how the others reacted to this. Thalia looked upset and grief-stricken. Piper and Hazel were sobbing into their boyfriends' shirts, who had pained faces on. Nico was staring into space, looking indifferent and pale, his eyes red from crying.

Chiron had his head bowed low, before wheeling his chair up near the center. "Everyone, why don't you take some rest? We... we need time to recover before we continue on with our tasks, or something worse might happen," he announced in a gravelly voice. "S-set up some tents by the amphitheater, I... I'm going to.." he trailed off, turning away and heading to the ruins of the arena.

No one moved. Annabeth looked up, wiping her tears with her hands. "We need to fix this."

Almost everyone looked at her in surprise that she would actually prefer to fix something first than resting. "What? The camp?"

She shook her head. "This thing between us and the Romans. It just adds to our problems; wreckage of the camp, having people killed. It doesn't do both of us any good," she noted, and the campers stared at her doubtfully, unsure if they were to agree or not. Sure, they wanted to, but what if the Romans refuse their offer of peace, and lead it to more bloodshed? They wouldn't want that to happen. Annabeth continued, "This whole war with the Romans thing is just a misunderstanding."

"How is it?" a boy that Annabeth recognized as her sibling asked. "When did it happen?"

The daughter of Athena sighed, recalling the event in her mind. She winced; the incident had included him, and she was still getting used to the fact that he was indeed, _gone_. "When we came to the Roman camp, at first, everything had been fine. But then an eidolon possessed Leo when he was showing Octavian, their Roman auger, around the Argo, and he blasted the camp with the ballistae."

"I'm pretty sure it did some awesome major damage," a Hephaestus boy muttered loud enough for everybody to hear. They glared at him, and he cowered back. "Just stating a fact!" he defended himself in a small voice.

"Well do they know it?" Clarisse ventured impatiently, not wanting to waste her time with a little machine junkie. "Do they know that happened? Do they even _know _what an eidolon is?" she sneered, narrowing her brown eyes derisively.

"They do," Jason answered, and the daughter of the war god darted her eyes towards him. "They just don't know what happened; they don't trust the Greeks, so they assumed that this was our plan all along. They even counted me, a _Roman_, a part of the plan," he frowned wearily.

"Then they're jerks," Clarisse declared, scoffing. "Why would we even bother making peace with them? Annabeth, they made fun of _your_ siblings because they know that Athena was a maiden goddess. She still is, isn't she? Hell, they don't even know who Ares is!"

A lot of the campers, and all of the Ares kids roared in assent. Annabeth and the others sweat-dropped. This was going to take some time.

* * *

"Calm down, everyone!" Piper shouted over the noise. "Calm down!"

The charmspeak she put into it was thick and powerful. Within seconds, the crowd had quieted and was waiting for them to speak under eyes filled with disdain and anger, but has a hint of understanding to them, to show that they would consider their opinions.

Annabeth sighed tiredly before speaking, "Look, everyone," she started. Her face was twisted in some kind of way, as though she was repressing herself to show whatever she felt at the moment. "If we did nothing, then nothing good comes out from this. We stay here, rebuild, and sleep with one eye open for any attacks. Our camp will feel unprotected; not anymore by monsters but by Romans. Our only approachable ally: gone." Clarisse was about to say something, but she added, "Okay, so be it; we attack their camp. What good thing happens? We kill each other. And that's not even good."

Almost all of them narrowed their eyes as they pondered this, while a few, quick as a flutter of wings, agreed to make peace. A camper raised her hand inquisitively. She gestured for her to speak.

"What if they don't accept?" she asked negatively. Annabeth opened her mouth to answer, but was surprised when someone completely unexpected answered for her. Even the others looked that way.

"Don't act hostile. Turn back. Leave them alone. Try again at another time," Nico said shortly, in a dark, quiet voice. He turned his back on them all. "I won't be coming with you. Good luck." He started to walk away, when someone asked, "Where are you going?"

He paused, and twisted his body slightly so he was facing them. "I'm going to look for Percy." And with that, he took off and ran towards a shadow in a tree, and disappeared.

After the son of Hades had left, Annabeth asked the Apollo kids to get a huge white flag from wherever they have one, and prepare it in a fashion that it could be seen and raised clearly and easily. She had most of the campers joining them, while some stayed back and continued cleaning up the camp. Clarisse hadn't wanted to come, but the daughter of Athena forced her to so she just settled at the back scowling.

Annabeth still didn't know how they were going to Roman camp which was practically on the other side of the continent. But as if on cue, a gleaming red sports car parked itself by the lake, descending from the sky. The air around it was so hot, that when she stepped into its diameter she was nearly sweating. The door opened Batmobile-style, and out hopped the god of the sun, Apollo.

The corners of his mouth pushed into an empty smile. "Father knows what you're up to, so I might as well help you out." He clicked his fingers and the car shimmered, transforming into a bus that could contain fifty people. The doors slid open, and he gestured to it, "Get on."

The campers timidly filed in the vehicle, holding onto their white flag. Apollo shifted into his Roman form and got in wordlessly. The drive to Camp Jupiter was awkwardly silent. They all understood why the usual cheery and carefree god of the sun was in this mood. The hero of Olympus truly had changed them all.

* * *

Percy felt comfortable speaking with her. He felt that he could trust her with his whole life—which, by the way, he didn't know what real state it is in. Was he really alive? Dead? Had his soul somehow duplicated itself to come to the Underworld? It seemed... highly unlikely, but with the creator of the universe, everything looked puny and easy.

_Puny._ A disturbing image appeared in his head; he shook his head mentally to clear it. He finished his story as he watched the goddess' face: emotionless, and he waited for the angry outburst that might as well be his doom.

"So you mean..," Artemis trailed off, looking at him for confirmation.

Percy just nodded solemnly, not trusting his voice to speak. The goddess' mouth opened and closed, as though she wasn't sure what to say. At this, the son of the sea god became even more nervous, expecting the worst to come.

But that was not how he expected it. Do worst things include hugs in it?

He was in too much shock to react or hug back. "I understand," Artemis said, hesitantly, quite confused with her own actions. She pulled away from the hug and looked up at him, her eyes refusing to show their disappointment. "Does it mean that you're not coming back?"

Percy managed to blink out his shock. He shook his head. "No; I thought I told you I'd come back once I finished my training?" he reminded her.

At this time, she somehow found the carved stone floor tiles interesting. "I mean, what if Chaos fades before you even finish your training? You'd never be able to come back—"

"Who said I wasn't?" the son of Poseidon interrupted her, his eyes gleaming with determination. "I'd find a way. The creator was the one who made the laws, right? I'll find a way through it. Besides," he added, "I don't think she'll leave me all alone with her children still training me. And I think this heir business is just preparation; you know, just in case she really _would_ fade."

"She?"

Percy was taken aback. "Yeah. Don't you know?"

She hesitated. "Well, originally," she started to explain, "I thought that the creator of the universe was a male."

"Her original form is female—or so she tells me," the heir shrugged. "But that's not the point. I'll come back, don't worry Lady."

Artemis nodded, staring up at him doubtfully. "When will I ever see you again..," she muttered to herself, half-hoping that he didn't hear her. Yet fortunately or unfortunately, he did.

Percy looked at her a bit oddly, probably pondering her strange behavior in his dream. Seeing this, the goddess made a mental note to compose herself once they meet again. But that was the problem. She didn't know if they would _ever_ meet again.

"How about this," he told her, after a moment of thoughtful silence. She looked up expectantly, hoping that the—only one in a lifetime—smart male had thought up a useful idea. "I'll try to visit you in your dreams every night," he suggested tactfully. What he didn't say was that he'd visit her _after he checks up on Annabeth._ He had to see if he could talk to her like what he'd accidentally done to Artemis.

"Are.. Are—what?"

Percy swore that he could see stars in her silver eyes. He wondered why that would be? Nonetheless, he nodded affirmatively. "I swear on my life," he confirmed, smiling once he saw the moon goddess smile a smile so contagious he had to join in. "But, well, don't take this wrong, but," he quipped in. "If you tell what I told you to someone else, I might not be able to visit you. It could get to Zeus, and they'd have you on some lockup to find where I am. I can't have that; I won't let you get hurt because of me if I can help it."

The moon goddess nodded in understanding. He was just so caring, and—and loyal. She couldn't imagine a much more perfect male to be worthy of her love. "I swear on my honor that I won't tell anyone," she said firmly, making his smile broaden. "Never."

His grin was so wide that Artemis thought it opted to split his face apart. But suddenly, he cocked his head into a direction as though listening to something. She couldn't hear anything though. He turned back to her, a small, apologetic smile on his face.

"Sorry, Lady Artemis, but you have to wake up," he said as her eyes widened in surprise. She asked him, "How long have I been asleep?"

Percy gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Five to six hours, I think."

Her vision was fading. The son of the sea god was getting blurrier and blurrier by the second. Not thinking of anything else to do, she grabbed his hand. He blinked in surprise. "Please come back," Artemis pleaded, her face almost portraying the emotion.

He swallowed and nodded. "I will." He gave a small bow as she faded away and disappeared. He heaved a sigh, staring at the spot where the goddess was once standing. "I will, but I wish you were Annabeth..," he murmured wistfully. For some reason, the statement was somewhat hard to pronounce. But he meant it, didn't he? He meant it. He _really _wished it was Annabeth. ..Maybe.

Percy squeezed his eyes shut. He really meant it. And then, he felt himself waking up. Perfect timing too, since he'd wanted to ask the creator or one of her children something important. He needed some advice; although not the ideal person, he felt that this person was the one he could trust the most next to Annabeth and Artemis.

And maybe, just _maybe_, he'd be able to help out and hide himself better. Um, not technically _hide_—perhaps_ cloak_ is a much better word.

* * *

The son of Hades appeared on the other side of the bank of the river Styx. Looking behind him, he saw the ferryman Charon rowing a group of souls towards him—towards the land. He squinted at each one, whilst they prepared to let go of their unfulfilled dreams. There was no familiar soul within them. Nothing.

He creased his forehead thoughtfully. Maybe he was still on the other side? He turned and waited for Charon to dock. The second he had, the souls floated soundlessly off the boat, and straight into the lines. The ferryman looked at him curiously, the lone paddle clutched in his grip.

Nico gestured to the other side. "Take me back," he told him curtly, handing him a small cloth pouch. He stepped into the boat as the ferryman peered into the bag, his eyes widening. "That goes from here and back. Hustle."

Charon sealed the pouch and nodded, eagerly navigating the boat through the black waters of the River of Hate. Once the boat had touched the wall, it transformed into an elevator and lifted itself up. After sometime, the doors slid open, and the son of Hades, unhurriedly, stepped out of the platform.

He scanned the faces of the translucent, unmoving spirits in the lobby. His eyebrows shot up when he noticed a familiar face, and forgetting his restrictions, he rushed toward the soul. The wisp was in what looked like a conversation with a female. He gripped his shoulder and spun him around to face him. The guy turned to him with a look of astonishment, surprised that someone could actually touch him.

Nico's face fell, his excitement lost in the wind. The guy's mouth moved and formed shapes, but no sound came out. He panicked and gripped the son of Hades' shoulders, his mouth still working. Nico's mouth released a husky word.

"Travis."

The dead son of Hermes' eyes widened. He let his hands drop to the sides. He looked at him, making the movement of his mouth more pronounced. _Did we win the war?_

This went unnoticed by the son of Hades, for he was busy looking carefully at all the faces in the lobby. He pursed his lips nervously when no more recognizable faces were found. He turned back to the Stoll. He didn't really know if he should ask him if he saw his cousin. He'd die (again) because of shock. He made his decision and inhaled.

"Have you seen Percy?" he asked. The ghost frowned confusedly. _Was I supposed to see him before I died?_ it mouthed, obviously clueless to what he was really asking.

Nico shook his head. "Right here," he said urgently, "Did you see him pass by?"

Travis clenched his jaw grimly. He faced away from the Ghost King, and shook his head, now looking more like an ordinary lost soul than an intellectual demigod. Suddenly, his head jolted up and he floated towards the boat, the female now know recognized as Lou-Ellen of Hecate following behind him. The son of Hades looked after them, defeat evident in his face before coming as well.

Once he set foot in the sandy banks of the river Styx, he dashed after the long lines that lead to the judgment hall. He paused by Cerberus, patting its three doggy heads before barging into his father's throne room. There he was, sitting on his black throne of skulls and jewels, while the seat beside him lay empty; Persephone was probably in her quarters, resting.

Nico fell forward into a bow, which did not do much since he was already on his feet a second later. He looked up at his father, who was gazing at him with disguised concern. "Father, where is Percy? He _is _in Elysium, right?" Before letting his father reply, he added, "I need to see him!"

Hades sighed, as if he had been expecting this. "Look, Son," he started, and he started it with a hint of nervousness which didn't go undetected. "I don't—I really don't know how he got there, I assumed that it was Minos' doing; he always _is_ the persuasive one of all the judges, and he might've been angry at him for not letting Daedalus be judged, and—"

"You're rambling, Father," the Ghost King said, a little impatience reaching his voice, making the said father wince. "He _has_ to be in Elysium. He sacrificed himself to save Annabeth!"

The Lord of the Dead let out a stuttering sigh. "Fine. I suppose I should say it," he murmured, tiredly running his hand across his face, as though wiping the blotch of stress coloring it. "He reached Asphodel. And no," he added quickly before his son could protest. "I have nothing to do with it, and you are forbidden to visit him."

Nico's mouth opened and closed like a swinging window flap. His look of shock contorted into one of rage. "And why is that?" he asked, his voice scarily calm. It made Hades flinch in spite of himself. "He should have at least GONE TO ELYSIUM IF I'M NOT ALLOWED VISIT HIM!"

He took deep breaths to calm himself, and before his father could say something, he spun on his heel and marched to the doors. Hades found himself saying, "Where are you going?"

Nico continued walking. "I'm going to fire a certain judge." The doors shut close with a bang. The Rich One blinked, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Finally, he slouched on his throne with a thoughtful sigh.

He rubbed his temples. "I knew I shouldn't have agreed to this."

_Well, it gives you some space._

"And it makes my son hate me more."

_Nico doesn't hate you. He hates the things that happened. There's much difference between those._

He sighed for the umpteenth time in the day. "Remind me what I get, again?"

_The wonderful feeling of helping a friend. _And_ the bragging rights that you know something many don't._

"Aside from that, you sarcastic moron."

_Assured safety for your family. Nico, you, and Persephone, I mean._

"Why me? Why not your father?" he asked, and he felt like this was the fifth time he had asked that question. He heard a distant sigh.

_For some reason, I don't feel comfortable talking to him anymore._

"Is it because of your new father?" Hades ventured. "And our somewhat, _relation?_"

_Um, yeah, I guess. The beaches here have fine black sand. Not white._

"What about the water?"

It was quiet for a while. Just when Hades thought that he won't reply again, he spoke in an echoic voice, usually a signal that he would be out for a while. _It's a clean sparkly gray._

* * *

The sentries stood guard atop the towers. They stayed alert and ready as they saw the flaming bus perch at the other side of the Little Tiber, just out of arrow range. They stiffened when they saw Greek heroes climb out of the bus. There were roughly forty campers, as they could see. They narrowed their eyes, their emotions unknown, when they saw the Roman god, Apollo, have accompanied these Greeks.

"Lord Apollo," the one at the very lead announced loudly, bowing his head in respect. "Why are you with these—these _Graeci?_" he spat, the last word flew out of his mouth like a spatter of fiery venom. He only regarded the Roman god, ignoring the Greeks completely as if they weren't there.

The sun god narrowed his eyes up at him warningly, and against his will, the leader stepped back in fear of being incinerated. He'd never seen the god so serious before. Well sure, because he was Roman, the god had become more serious and responsible, yet the Greek side was always still there. He _does_ goof around like a Roman does. But not this degree of seriousness; he'd yet to see this—until now.

The god shifted back into his Greek form and walked forward. The sentries stood there, unsure of what to do while still watching the other heroes. They, the heroes of Camp Half-Blood, on the other hand, glanced at each other in uncertainty. A silent accord was made between them, and they raised the flag. The thing was now properly seen.

Many more people from Camp Jupiter had gathered on top of the walls, watching curiously. Some of their faces contorted in disdain, looking at the heroes below them. Apollo had stopped walking, a few yards away from the gates. After some time, the crowd at the walls parted to reveal Reyna, donning her purple toga in all her praetorian glory. Following her was Octavian, stuffed teddies hung at his belt. He wore what seemed to be a permanent sneer on his face.

"What are _you_ doing here? Do you wish to be eradicated?" the augur watched them scornfully. Perhaps he just didn't notice that a searing death wish from his patron was waiting for him at the gates.

"Octavian Bourne," Apollo snarled. The augur's head snapped to the bottom, where his eyes widened almost comically. "Are _you _the one who wish to be eradicated, augur?"

Despite the fear he was feeling, he couldn't help but say, "How would you do that? You Greeks are _weak_," he spat, and immediately regretted it. The Greek god of the sun was struggling to contain his godly form.

Meanwhile, the heroes behind the god were glaring at Octavian, all the while trying to haul the flag above their heads, in case the god released hold by accident. The people that had accrued above had scattered when the augur insulted the god, feeling fear and fury at the thought of dying by the augur's stupidity.

Before anyone could say anything, Reyna felt the need to intervene. "Enough, Octavian. He is still a god," she reasoned. The descendant of Apollo just scoffed and turned away. "Get back to your duties. And that," she added firmly before he could protest. "Is an order from your praetor."

Octavian opened his mouth to speak, but thought better of it and settled on scowling. He spun on his heel and stomped away. After he left, the female praetor looked back at them, an almost apologetic expression covering her stern face. "I am truly sorry for his insolent words, Lord Apollo. However," she glanced at the Greek heroes who were still standing there awkwardly, her face devoid of emotion. "I believe we still have to talk about... something."

Suddenly, the gates were thrown open. Apollo walked through, the heroes in pace behind him. The Roman guards were eying them warily for any sign of attack. But they didn't seem to care or notice, as they looked around in awe at the city and the camp. Even Clarisse watched the lively camp and city, grudgingly impressed by their defense.

They arrived at the camp's headquarters, which doubles as a praetor's office, or what Reyna called as the _Principia._ She had the guards watching the other campers with the white flag, whilst she has a talk with the current leader, Annabeth, and the rest of the people who had gone to Greece: Jason the co-praetor; Hazel the legionnaire of Pluto; Frank the centurion; Piper the powerful charmspeaker; Thalia the second-in-command of the Greek version of the Amazons—the lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis. For that very while, Apollo acted as some peace-bringer in case a fight broke out while the cool heads were discussing.

Reyna hadn't known what to think. The Romans had destroyed the camp severely. Instead of a fierce comeback like she was expecting, and expecting probably a few weeks later after they rejuvenated, she met these _surrendering_ Greeks on their front door, days after their triumphant retreat. At first, she'd been thinking, _What are they playing at?_

But then she remembered. _Days._ It's only been days since their celebration, so it couldn't be possible that they were attacking back already, having this short on troops. And then she thought of the white flag. What are they planning to do? Apologize? The Romans did not take it kindly when the Vulcan boy blasted their camp the first time, so why should the Greeks come back, veryunexpectedly _with_ a sign of surrender?

She tuned back in to focus. "—the war for you, in the process lost someone of our own, and then we go back to see your home broken and burnt," Annabeth was saying. "What would you feel, then, if you were us?"

"Devastated," Reyna admitted in an even tone. Then she looked at her curiously, her eyes steely. "Who have you lost?"

That's when she noticed that she might've hit a nerve; they have begun squirming uncomfortably. And how come she hadn't noticed it earlier? It's because they were still seven! But two of them were not here. The—she noticed him absent—Vulcan boy, Leo, she reckoned was his name, probably stayed back to repair. But where was _he?_ Very obtuse as she thought he is, he still knows that he's the only one who could make peace between the Greeks and Romans. Or at least, Reyna assumed he could.

"Um.. Well, you see..," Jason started uneasily, gesturing to the people around him. "We've told you that we won the war, but not _how_ we won the war. It was painful." Unknown to the daughter of Bellona, it really was. Having lost two of your best friends almost at the same time, he nearly broke down right then and there.

"We first journeyed through Rome. Annabeth needed to follow the Mark of Athena. So we went, and as the prophecy said, we left her to herself. And then when we found her, she was in a battle with Arachne. She was hanging off a pit. It was Tartarus." Reyna felt sick to the stomach at hearing the name. "We tried to get to her, but the grip of the spider was too strong; we couldn't haul her out. So Percy had us come to the other side, and they fell together."

Jason's voice wavered at the mention of the son of Poseidon. She hadn't known this. But she could predict what happens next. Then where was Percy? And Leo? He continued, after seeing Reyna's eyes widen. "We flew to Greece. To the House of Hades. There were a ton of monsters there, defending. We fought them while Nico went to the doors. He told us that he found they were arguing. Most probably who gets to stay."

At that, the daughter of Bellona gasped in disbelief. Seeing as the daughter of Athena was here, then.. She felt saddened. Why did he have to be so loyal? Even if he was not a true Roman, and left with the Greeks, she still had wished he just stayed.

"And then," the son of Jupiter continued, and Reyna looked up astounded. He was not done? "We went to the original Olympus. Without—without him. The Argo crashed. We found out that Leo was swallowed by the earth, taken hostage by Terra to lure Percy. But," he added, noticing that she was about to say something. "He obviously wasn't there. So we came to one conclusion: it wasn't her doing."

"Why wasn't it? She—she controls the doors, right?" She now hated herself for stammering. Although, truth be told, she felt a little apprehensive on who had gotten Percy. If Terra hadn't, it could be worse.

Jason nodded. "She does. We still don't know how it's like that; you know, her not knowing things.

"So then we fought. We defeated so many monsters. We defeated giants. I came to free Leo while Father was fighting his bane. But then the ropes went around me after he was out.

"He saved us. Porphyrion blasted Leo and Piper away. I was still tied. He got Annabeth beside me, and began to sacrifice us. We almost died," as he said this, he turned away. "But he saved us. Leo.

"He threw himself at Terra while she was forming. There was a pit behind her, a pit to the core. They fell there. Then the ground had sewn itself as if it was never punctured."

Reyna was shocked speechless. She now understood why they had come. They've lost so much that they even went to their mortal nemesis personally to make peace. So no more would be lost. She imagined what they must've felt. She felt herself cringe.

"Yes, we've lost too much," Annabeth said glumly, as if reading her mind. "Consider our offer of peace. Maybe we could even unite," she glanced at the door, where the sun god was waiting by outside. "And make a joint camp. Just no violence."

The female praetor bit her lower lip. She made a glance at the door. It was a good thing that Octavian wasn't here, or he would've shouted lies and insults until her impulse told her to deck him. Of which that impulse was immediate. Of course, the Greco-Roman war wasn't her idea. The fool's supporters are quite much, and vetoing would make her look weak and traitorous.

"Mull it over, Reyna," her co-praetor pleaded. "I speak as a praetor of New Rome, not Jason. They're sincere. They mean it."

She looked over him. The guy looked desperate. Sighing, she said, "Very well. We accept your offer." The Greeks' faces broke into smiles. She gave them her own, mischievous smile. "_If_ you manage to convince the Roman people."

* * *

"Thanks for the ride, Lord Apollo."

"No problem, girls." With a wink, he dashed out with his flaming sports car.

The two, with the rest of the hunters behind them, watched as the vehicle soar into the sky; until it finally disappeared between the clouds. Thalia whistled. "Seems like a wonderful car."

They turned and faced the hunters. Each of them were looking at Annabeth intently, sizing her up. Eventually, she moved her gaze down to the ground, getting uncomfortable. The daughter of Zeus saved her.

"Hunters, where's Lady Artemis?" she asked them as a whole. A hunter gestured towards the tent farthest from where they were, a tent with the same size and space as the other tents. Only, unlike the others, it has a silver moon at the entrance. "She's in her tent, sleeping. Thalia," she called when the lieutenant was turning away, "Are you going to take her to Lady Artemis, or could we show her around now?"

The daughter of Zeus stared at her, the expression on her face unreadable. Finally, she nodded. "Yeah. Show her around the camp. Introduce yourselves." She turned to the daughter of Athena. "Come with them. I'll be right back."

Annabeth wanted to thank her, but then she was already gone. She pursed her lips and let the hunters acquaint with her.

Thalia didn't really know why she did that. Something just told her to. Something told her to see her mistress alone, that even Annabeth won't be in the situation. Was there something wrong? She thought to herself as she approached the tent.

It was like any other tent in the camp. Same size, same space. At least, same space in the outside. The only difference is that there was a small silver moon at the entrance—the only indicator that it was the superior's tent. That way, when they get invaded, the intruders will have to look through each tent for the goddess. And because they have roughly thirty hunters, by the time they find the leader's tent, everyone had them cornered.

She reached it and knocked thrice. No response. She knocked again. Nothing. She furrowed her eyebrows and planted her ear onto the door. All she heard was steady breathing. She sighed in relief; nothing bad happened. But still, usually her mistress wakes up at the slightest sound, provided with her keen senses as the best huntress. She raised her hand again to knock, louder this time, but stopped.

_Agh, screw privacy._ She zipped the tent flap open and barged in. As usual, her traditional spoils of war hung on the tent walls: horns, teeth, scales, and fur of countless beasts littered the walls like framed paintings in an art museum. A carpet made out of boar skin lay flat on the floor. Amidst all the spoils, her bow and arrows were hung like antique display. Leaning on the wall below the bow was a sword, glinting sharp and double-edged. It was an ancient Xiphos, carved with Greek letters in silver.

_Σκιά_σ_ελήνη. Moonshade._

Thalia stared at the sword incomprehensively. Her mistress had a _sword?_ Is she even using it? And it wasn't even a hunting sword; she could see that clearly. She hadn't seen Artemis wield a sword before. Sure, she does melee occasionally, but with a hunting knife; certainly not with a sword. When did she start using it anyway? She'd gone here last.. Well, the last time she'd gone in here was when she found out that they needed to come to New York to help in the Titan war. And that was eight months ago.

Her skin itched to touch it, to examine it. She was not a sword person, but there was something odd about the sword. Odd in a good way. It appeared excellent to use. She could almost imagine herself wielding it, gracefully slicing and spinning. It gleamed as it slashed the air, leaving a trail of silver light.

She restrained herself. Surely she could do that later. With a resigned sigh, Thalia moved towards her mistress, who was beginning to wake up. She stopped and stayed back as the goddess slowly sat up from her slumber.

Artemis woke up, feeling good since Percy's disappearance. He had actually called _her, _into his dream! Well, technically it was an accident, but she still got to see him anyway. She was the only one who knew that he was _alive _and _strong,_ and was on his path to being the true heir of Chaos—and coming back to the world.

She thought about his promise and felt a small smile full of love light her face. And then she noticed Thalia, looking at her curiously. Her smile vanished and she stood up, straightening her hunting garb. She looked at her firmly. "Thalia."

Her lieutenant bowed. "Lady Artemis," she greeted. "I'm sorry for coming in without permission. It's just that I needed to talk to you about something, but you wouldn't wake when I knocked. Six times."

The goddess nodded. "It's fine," she said. "What do you want to talk about?"

Thalia's eyes rested on her feet. "I don't mean to pry, but," she cleared her throat nervously. "Why'd you leave when you found out Percy's dead?" Artemis winced for some reason, and the daughter of Zeus noted that. "And," by then, Thalia was looking at her mistress suspiciously. "What was that smile about?"

Artemis' posture was rigid, her jaw tight as she gazed into her lieutenant's bright blue eyes, pulsing with electricity. What would she say? Some lame excuse? Always better than the truth. He told her not to tell anyone, and she swore her honor to him. She'd not ignore that, now that he might be watching for all she knows.

But her half-sister's eyes were steely, and had something that pushed you to tell the truth she'd wanted. It had a solid ring of determination that could probably detect lies. What would she say? If her lieutenant had found out that she was lying, then the trust in her will decrease. But if she told her lieutenant the truth, Percy would feel betrayed.

Shall she tell her about her feelings for him? It wouldn't cut it, and besides, it was too much information to give away. Shall she tell the half-truth: that Percy was somewhere—not alive nor dead? He'd stop visiting her before he even started. Thalia'd go look for him. And after that, everyone will look for him.

What would she do? Flash out and run like a coward?

_O' Fates help me._

* * *

**Woohoo. Okay, so I was lying when I said that last chapter was probably the longest thing I've ever written. This was; it's roughly a two hundred from seven K.**

**So I dunno what to say to the people who liked the shorter, but faster chapters better. I guess I'll say sorry, I'd written it already when I received your review. (but only posted it today HA) But not to worry; I'd kept in mind to.. moderate.**

**As for the guy who said _Percy and Artemis forever! _I completely agree with you dude.  
**

**For the other story.. it isn't striving much as this. So I think I'll focus on this ;) Whad'dya say? ..Review..**

**~Smartzyfan _(Should I write myself, out of the history books? And mark a place in time, for every chance you took?)_**


	6. Harshness Overload: Truth and Training

**Yo yo yo. I'm still alive, hooray! I should've updated on one of these weekdays, 'cause of no classes and such, but then work piled on top of me when I thought they'll never come. So I was forced to do those first before this.  
Enough of that, ze chapter shall begin!**

**EDIT 8/16/2013: A nice person pointed out a common mistake. I fixed it. Thanks!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Harshness Overload: Truth and Training

"I.." she gritted her teeth in frustration.

Her lieutenant raised a prying eyebrow. "Well?"

Artemis bit her lip. She felt a trickle of blood trail down her chin, and onto the boar skin carpet. It came as an ugly blotch of dirty gold. Those bright steely eyes were swallowing up her resolve. Telling her that she had to tell her trusted lieutenant the truth.

She was a goddess. So of course, she _won't_ lose.

"Well, what?" was her short reply. She tried hard to be nonchalant.

"What about it?" her lieutenant was frowning at her, trying to figure her out. Possibly also wondering why she wanted to stray from the subject. Or stall.

"What's about what?" the moon goddess replied back with her own question, feigning ignorance. But her posture was visibly tense, and her jaw was tight. Her eyes were tainted with desperation.

Thalia furrowed her eyebrows in frustration. Her mistress obviously knows what they were talking about, and knows what's about it. She just didn't want to talk about it, and it made the daughter of Zeus want to know it more. She knew pushing the goddess to answer her question was dangerous—dangerous as in you might get turned into a shish-kebab or a horned rabbit or both. She sighed inwardly, defeated. Oh well, it'd be worth a shot.

"Why—why did you leave, back at the throne room? And you looked like—like Annabeth when she talks about Percy," she forced the words out, and she could see the effect of it all on the goddess. She was nervous, Thalia could see that, but what was there to be nervous about?

"Because.. Because.." Artemis struggled to find words. She still hadn't thought of what to say. She quickly thought it over, even if the thing to do was very, very clear. This was a daughter of Zeus, as was she. She could've told her father immediately, but she didn't and chose the son of Poseidon. Was she feeling anything; any guilt or anxiety because she didn't tell her father this? No. She chose him. Would Thalia choose him too?

Of course she would. She, Artemis, one of Zeus' most faithful daughters, even chose _him_ over the god of lightning. What was she saying then, if she knew that Thalia, _his_ closest friend, cousin, and sister, would do the same as her older half-sister? Perhaps, telling the truth would be ideal—

"It's a reason I'd rather not share with you," she brushed it off, rather dismissively. Not better to relent, anyway.

Thalia frowned suddenly. She had assumed that her mistress was going to give in. Her jaw was going slack and her eyes held resignation. What goes? "Why not?" she asked, gently, as to pose that she wasn't that all bothered by her response. "Why wouldn't you? What is it?"

It was as if each of her questions was a separate slap to the face. The goddess was flinching, as if it hurt. As if every question hurt.

She shook her head. "Nothing, really," she said, making a weak effort to change the subject. "I've heard that the other hunters were the first ones here. You stayed back with our new recruit. Where've you been?"

The demigod daughter of Zeus looked like she wanted to push more into the previous conversation they had, but answered back politely. "We fixed the thing between the Greeks and Romans. They're good now," she replied warily. "Now, what was it really? Did you dream something good? I swear I won't tell anyone."

_Really good,_ Artemis thought to herself, recalling the reunion they had. It wasn't the ideal reunion that she'd imagined, but it was better than nothing at all. He had told her his secrets—secrets that were very much forbidden for the whole world to see, and only he himself was allowed to know, including the ancient gods around him. He had told her (maybe accidentally) his feelings towards the heartbreak he experienced, when he found out just then that the girl he loved had sworn off love and men. It was like he gave her his own identity that night.

It felt good to know that probably the only man you have ever loved trusted you the most, and yet he was in love with someone else. Even if he didn't mean to share his heart to you at his darkest moment. Even if he didn't know that you love him.

She drew herself from her thoughts, and looked up at her lieutenant. Her eyes were wide, and Artemis thought what had been wrong. Slowly, Thalia composed herself, and cleared her throat uneasily. "Um, never mind, Lady Artemis. If you don't like to share it, I respect your decision," she said, chuckling nervously. "I, uh, guess I'll help Annabeth familiarize in the hunt, then."

With a small wave, the lieutenant left the tent hurriedly. The goddess of the hunt didn't seem to find this unusual; maybe her lieutenant was really into showing her best friend the life of a Hunter of Artemis. She sighed in relief, thankful that her suspicious half-sister had guessed that she wasn't into talking about it.

Speaking of _it,_ she wondered what he was doing right now..

* * *

Percy emerged from the meditation room, feeling completely exhausted. That... thing he'd done, surprisingly took a lot out of him, when he thought it would only pass him out.

Yeah, he thinks like that.

He walked, rather stumbled, to the elemental training room, also called Geo-Simulator. Whatever the last word means; all he knows that _geo_ meant 'earth', so naturally he expected Gaea to be the one in charge of it. And he expected that the training _room_ was some kind of forest or mountain or tundra, since, you know, every land form has its own elements within it. Well, typically, he didn't know what a tundra was.

What he didn't expect was that the room was really a _room._ A blank, with smooth white walls, hospital room with absolutely nothing in it. There was no opening around him, so he wondered how he could still breathe properly and not suffocate on his own saliva when someone spoke behind him.

"Finally you're here," the voice yawned, and he turned around to see a familiar god.

He was dark-haired, with green eyes so bright it was almost yellow. It reminded Percy of the waters near some beaches, where they were not polluted with any kind of filth whatsoever. He wore a dark blue muscle shirt which showed his muscular abs that made Percy envious despite himself.

But while the top half was bare, he'd wanted to admit that his lower half was intimidating. His jeans looked so heavy that he wondered how it held up like that, in spite of not having a belt to lock it in place. Hanging on the belt loops were sheathed twin swords, and both hummed with power. On the length of the pant legs, daggers and throwing knives were littered like jewel decorations. Some chains surrounded them, as though locking them in place, but even they looked... movable. Across his back was a... a spear, only the head looked strange. It was like a cross of a trident and a scythe. And of course, his all-powerful trident. How could he forget.

"Lord Pontus," he greeted, bowing respectfully. This was the _real_ god of the sea. Although neither of them liked bowing, Percy had to—he _felt_ like he had to. The guy could probably toss him around the room using only hand gestures. How awesome is that?

"Oh cut the crap Percy, we both know that you and I hate that thing," the sea god grinned, and pulled the son of Poseidon to his feet. "_I _should be the one bowing to you, 'cause, you know, even Lady Chaos says so that she would if only you'd allow her." He shrugged as if it was no biggie, but Percy went wide-eyed at the statement. "And you're going to be our new Lord of the Universe! Ain't that awesome?"

The heir nodded numbly, unable to speak. Was he that worthy of a hero? That even the creator—the _Creator_ would want to bow to him? As if reading his mind, Pontus clapped him in the back, shaking his head.

"Come on, Perce, you should know better than that," he chided light-heartedly. "Of course you're worthy! Heck, you even stole the heart of—"

He stopped abruptly, cursing himself silently for saying too much. Oh, why ruin the fun? The boy was too oblivious for his own good. It would be rather amusing to watch. He was so excited to train this boy; he had so much potential. And when he comes back, BAM! He'll meet _her_ again, and what'll happen? She slaps him, hurts him, and then admit to him what she felt. Then he'd be there, seeing the boy's face. It would be perfect blackmail material.

He almost forgot that the boy was still in front of him. Percy didn't seem to notice the slip; thank Chaos he was dense. But soon he got over his shock and looked at the god. "Alright, so how do we train?" Before he could answer, he added, "And can we train a little bit later? I'm exhausted."

Pontus rolled his eyes. "Fine. While I explain to you how we train, you could sit and rest." Before he could even blink, the son of Poseidon was on his back, eagle-spread. He was groaning as you hear his neck crack from the stiffness. He then sighed. "Better. Now," he lifted his head to look up at him, as he was still where he was before. "How do we train in," he gestured around the blank room. "This place?"

He had asked that before his head dropped back to the floor with a thud, resulting a small 'ow'. Pontus stared at his lying form pointedly. "I told you to sit, not lay down."

The son of Poseidon shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter."

The sea god sighed in defeat. "I'm gonna have to get used to you," he grumbled under his breath, which, thankfully, the teenager didn't hear. "What were you doing, anyway?"

"I talked to someone in their mind. Who was in a place a _biiiiiillion_ light years from here," he replied, dragging out the word. "It was cool. I thought I was gonna pass out."

"You'll get used to it eventually," the god replied. "Now, about how we train.." he trailed off for some reason.

"Yeah?"

When he didn't reply, Percy sat up grumbling, and turned his head around. He saw that Pontus was muttering inaudible things to himself while messing with some kind of console that appeared out of nowhere. Then again, he thought everything solid here appears out of nowhere.

"What's that?" he asked, but was silenced when the blank room suddenly turned into a white sand beach. He looked behind him, and saw the transparent ocean waves lapping over the shore. The sand was as white as it could be. Out of sheer delight, he slid down the beach, feeling the soft sand over his toes. He touched the warm water, instantly invigorated.

"Ain't she awesome?" the sea god said from behind him. Percy could only nod. Then he stood up, forgetting his exhaustion, and spun on his heel to face the sea god. "So how do we train?"

Pontus smiled; the boy really did want to get this over with to come back as soon as possible. Let's just see what happens to his enthusiasm when they start.

"Now, we train with this," he said, taking off the spear on his back and tossing it to him. The son of Poseidon caught it with two hands. And as though his reactions were too slow, he almost dropped it to the ground after a second. "Gods of the Void!" he exclaimed without thinking.

He froze. "Wait. Where'd that come from?"

Pontus grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. "Awesome; you're getting used to Void-speak, Percy," he praised. "In no time, you'll be speaking like you came from another planet. Literally."

The son of the sea god stared at him, looking a bit incredulous and fearful. "So I'll get to speak alien?" He made a face.

The god shrugged carelessly. "Maybe. But Chaos'll teach you that soon enough," he brushed it off and turned to look at the son of Poseidon seriously. "Now, do you know what kind of weapon that is?" He was gesturing to the strange-looking spear.

"Um," Percy looked down at the heavy weight in his hands. Up close, he could see that another spear tip fashioned into an L-shape was protruding from the scythe-blade. "A two-tipped scythe-trident?"

"Yes. To put it lightly," Pontus answered. "But technically, the correct term is _fauchard._"

The son of Poseidon planted the bottom of the shaft in the sand. It stuck like a flag on the moon. "It sounds.." He glanced at the sharp, glinting tips of the blade. He gulped. "And looks violent."

The god nodded, looking at the upright blade appraisingly. "It is. Wicked show you'd put once you master that."

The heir grinned at the blade, and tried to yank the shaft out whilst the sea god was saying something. "Alright now, take that out and I'll teach you how to use it." Just as he was finished speaking, the heir was able to pull out the blade, but with its powerful momentum, he was sent flying with it. He fell with a thud on his back, the wicked blade almost chopping his face in half.

Percy gulped. "Let's."

_Approximately five hours later..._

A human figure was seen crawling around the Courtyard of Ouranus. People and creatures pointed to it, but were ignored by the figure. It was wearing a dark sea green cloak, blue shirt, and jeans. Its breathing was labored as it reached the front door of the sky god's palace, and promptly collapsed into a heap.

Its cloak lifted a little, and the tip of a spear could be seen underneath. Now, if normal people saw that, they'd think that this person was hiding some firearm to eliminate someone. But no, these people knew what it was for.

A man in a white suit emerged from the palace doors. He looked down at the drained figure of the boy in the sea green cloak. His eyebrows furrowed in worry as he looked around his palace for someone. And then he saw him.

"Pontus!" he called. The sea god approached him grinning, before looking down at the boy and his grin faded. "Ah, I see he reached your front doors in good shape. Could you let him rest here? After all, you're his next teacher."

The man nodded and the sea god turned to leave, before spinning back around. "I'll take this." He bent down to get the weapon underneath the cloak. Although it looked the same, judging on what came of the boy, the fauchard had increased weight temporarily. Pontus gave a little wave and vanished into sea breeze with the weapon.

The man snapped his fingers and they transported into a wide archery range. He looked down at the boy. He was unconscious. Not thinking of anything else to do, he conjured up a bed for the boy and sat down. He waited.

* * *

She went out of the tent, still in disbelief. _Too late for not mentioning it now,_ she thought.

As she looked around the camp, Annabeth spotted her. She excused herself from the other hunters, thanking them for the warm welcome and went over to her. She sat down beside the daughter of Zeus just as she got comfortable.

Annabeth looked over her curiously. "You look pale," she noticed. "Is there something bothering you?" She didn't answer. The daughter of Athena tilted her head. "Is it something about what you talked about?"

"No!" she replied quickly, making the girl in front of her raise an eyebrow. "No—I mean, no, nothing. Really. I just need to think about something," by now she was mumbling almost incomprehensively that Annabeth had to lean in to hear her. "Nothing, really, Annie. But thanks for your concern."

At the word 'Annie', she huffed and sat back. "I was just asking what's wrong."

"Of course you were," Thalia agreed, suddenly apologetic. "Sorry. If only I could think straight. It's just really... mind-blowing."

Annabeth perked up. "What is it?"

The daughter of Zeus turned away. "It's something you don't want to know," she mumbled guiltily. She stood up and hurried to her tent before the wisdom's daughter could catch up to her. "Set her up a tent!" she managed to call out before she zipped her tent door locked.

Pounding came away at her door. Good thing too, that the lock was always from the inside. Thalia fell back on her bed, her arms spread like an eagle's. Her hair was sprawled messily on the pillow, looking like a mop of black. She stared at the ceiling, a contemplative look on her face.

Sometimes she hated curiosity. It always hits her head. Truly, curiosity kills the cat. She felt so stupid for not thinking of that. Now she had to suffer about these floating words in her head up until she couldn't sleep. Just great.

But was it the thing that Artemis was so reluctant to say? It wasn't very big news.. Okay, it is. She assumed that she's just used to him attracting many females. _She_ even got attracted to him at one point, but—she shivered. Never mind her saying that the lieutenant of the girls who've sworn off love got attracted to him. Anyway, back to the subject.

Was it really the big news Artemis didn't want to say? Sure, of course, everyone would be denying that they have that feeling on someone. She crossed the reason out. Besides, for that simple reason, her mistress won't let a single, important meeting pass, right?

Right?

Whatever. She didn't even know what it felt like to... _love._ The word sent a shiver up her spine. Something she didn't like. Does _that_ really cause people to think irrationally? It seemed ridiculous. She thought love was just a bunch of phrases and expressions. At least, that's what she knows when Percy and Annabeth are around. They always do those—ugh—lovey dovey expressions that made her want to vomit.

Does it affect their decisions? Percy—well, he always does something without even thinking of the consequences. It's a child of the Big Three thing; she was also like that. But Annabeth.. She took a poisoned dagger for him. She could've just blocked it off with her own dagger, or perhaps push Percy out of its way, not _take it. _And daughters of Athena weren't people who do things without thinking. They always plan.

But if she were in her shoes, Thalia reckoned, what would she do? Let's say that she also did what Annabeth had done, out of sheer compassion for her cousin. It's not love, right? Or at least, not the _same_ type of love. Cousinly love. _That_, she believed, was what makes people think irrationally.

Yet again, well, that phrase didn't exactly have a lot of meanings. Heck, even she already knew what it meant when she heard it. So maybe it was true.

Was it even legal? She made the oath for a reason.

Does she deem it true? She said it. She thinks so. Maybe she really does.

Okay then. She does. It's the reason why she left. Now she was left with one last question.. "What made her so happy when he's already dead?" she muttered to herself.

* * *

_You knock on the humongous doors of the room. Nothing much is nearby, except for the occasional god that passes by to say hi. Much expectedly, the doors are as grand as the inside, he would guess. It is like a whole galaxy was on it._

_The doors part to reveal the throne room. Although it is not like what you guessed, it still seems like the most beautiful place you have ever been to. The walls are all full of moving pictures of different galaxies; and the Milky Way Galaxy, where you're from, is in the form of a model at the very center. It must be the creator's personal favorite._

_You look toward the other end of the throne room, which is not that hard to do. The room was not like Zeus', who thinks that the bigger the throne room, the stronger the beings it houses. There sits the Creator of the Universe, gazing at the model in front of her. You see moving comets and satellites surrounding a particular planet—a planet you knew all too well. Earth._

_The creator looks up, and seeing you, she straightens and waves her hand at the model, which vanishes completely like a dust caught in the wind. She stands up and gestures for you to come closer. You do as she commands._

_"What are you doing here, Percy?" she asks you, genuinely curious. "Our training is not supposed to start until later."_

_You purse your lips, pondering if you should say it or not. You think that it will probably need some kind of power before you could do it. Nevertheless, you speak, "Can I talk to people in their mind?"_

_She tilts her head, as if she is amused by your question. "Why would you ask that?"_

_You think that she says no. Perhaps she forbids you to communicate with anyone? But, then again, you asked Gaea if you could talk to people in dreams, and she told you how, without any hesitance. Perhaps she only said it to get you in trouble? It is most likely; you do not wholly trust her yet._

_But is the creator really that strict as to forbid you from communicating with someone? You agree to stay here and train, grudgingly, and yet she has her rules? That's why you hate rules. You're never one to follow any of them, whatever the kind._

_Maybe she would give you a slip. "I was just asking. Do I need some power to do it, anyway?"_

_She smirks, as if sensing what you are up to. "Yes, you can. But you don't need any power. You are fully capable of it. Haven't you tried it before?"_

_You freeze. You cannot decide. Will you tell her? It seems that Gaea didn't tell her what you asked. She might make a trustworthy friend, after all. So will you—_

_"No. Not yet. I haven't tried it yet," you lie, praying to all the gods that look over impossibilities that she doesn't see through it. Thankfully, she didn't. You stand there for a few seconds, bow, and turn to leave. As you walk back to the entrance, you hear her murmur._

_"You can. You always can, because you are my son." You feel stronger for some reason as the doors shut close._

* * *

Percy woke up with an aching head. He tried to remember what happened.

_Fauchard. Heavy. Uggghhhhhh._

"Well. You're awake," a voice said oh-so obviously. He turned. There was a man in a white suit that reminded him of Zeus. "I know what you're thinking; I'm not Zeus."

"Who are you then—oh," he mumbled as his mind made a click again. "You're Ouranos, the primordial god of the sky."

The sky god smiled and nodded. "That's me."

Percy looked confused. "Then why am I here? I thought I'm going to learn.." he shivered involuntarily. "Archery."

The god raised an eyebrow. "You just thought of that right now instead of on your way here?"

The son of Poseidon blushed, nodding stupidly. Ouranos gave a little laugh. "It's fine. I knew you were going to say that," he laughed more when the boy blushed deeper. "Truth be told, you were actually scheduled now for Nyx. But since she's _so_ nice and she gave me a slip, I'll take over her time. And before you ask," he added when the heir was opening his mouth. "You slept for roughly five hours."

Percy flushed again, feeling embarrassed. He finally was able to gain his dignity left and spoke. "So.. Why am I here if I'm training for archery?"

Ouranos blinked, as if he only remembered it now. "Oh, yes. Well.." he broke off, looking somewhere.

"Well, why?" Percy asked, sitting up and looking to where the god was looking. Before he knew it, a familiar smirking face was in front of him so fast it made him yelp back, only to fall off the bed he was on. An angelic laugh filled the air. It made him raise an eyebrow in spite of his position.

"Boys—always so clumsy," the voice—a female—drawled, amusement coating her words. Oh. The voice was familiar; come to think of it, everything about that statement was familiar. He scrambled to sit upright.

He looked up. There she was, immortally dangerously beautiful. She looked like the last time he saw her: coppery skin, her stern dark brown eyes and the silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair; it seems that she hasn't changed much. She still looked stern and regal, but you could see the underlying amusement beneath her features. He relaxed when he recognized his old friend.

"Zoë!" He sprang up and surged forward. He engulfed her in a hug, which made the girl stiffen in surprise and... well, disdain. Her reddening face—not because of rage, you guessed—told otherwise, though, but fortunately, he didn't see it. "It's so great to see you again!" he exclaimed happily as he pulled away from the hug.

Zoë nodded tersely, still shocked at the action. "Yes.. It's great to see you too."

Percy frowned, noticing something slightly different in her. He shrugged it off and regarded the ex-hunter with a bright smile. "So what are you doing here?" he asked. "I thought I was going to—"

He broke off, and the huntress' face lit up with an evil smile. He blinked at her and gulped. "Um, yeah, that's what I was saying," he mumbled, looking anywhere but her. "I'm going to be trained; uh, I'll be trained—no no; I'll _train_ myself archery; yeah, that's right. I'm pretty sure I'll do fine." He tried to make a run out of there, but Zoë was quicker. Her hand shot out and held onto the back of his shirt. He kept running, but it was like he was running on a treadmill.

"Oh no you don't," she grinned at him devilishly, which made him want to get away from her more. "You are training with me, _boy._"

* * *

Walking with light, easy steps, he poured some nectar on his hands. The bleeding had stopped immediately. He sighed in relief and took the flask away. The effect of the nectar wasn't with the burning feeling like before. It was like he was already a god.

But gods know how to do archery. He had trained determinedly for five hours straight that his fingers bled. The huntress knew how to train someone, that's for sure; she really pushed him so hard so that he'd get to learn. Going easy on someone with a skill level as his would get to nothing. So at least he made some progress. A bit.

He looked over his shoulder. An ornate bow and a quiver of black arrows were slung across his back. He can't deny that it looked cool. The bow looked like anything else, because he was still a newbie and he might snap the weapon—which would be a bad thing if it was made out of expensive materials. And when he meant expensive, it wasn't in terms of money; it was the quality and power that came with it.

The arrows, on the other hand, were the real ones. The heads were made out of some metal that he hadn't identified yet; Zoë also didn't know what it was—she just said that it was reserved for him. But even if he didn't know the thing, he could tell it was powerful.

Percy reached the doors and knocked. Normally he would've just barged in, but he really had no interest to become a pile of ashes. Sure, he'd dared before, but this was another god they were talking about.

"Come in," the creator called from the inside. He pushed the doors open. Instead of the usual room with a single all-powerful seat in the middle, there was a glowing circle drawn on the ground. Chaos was standing inside the circle.

She gestured for him with her hands. "Well? Come on."

He conceded. He cautiously stepped into the circle across from her, and stared, waiting for orders. She smiled dryly. "Now, before we start, let me tell you that you're late."

He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He eventually regained his voice. "But—but it was Zoë's fault!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? How is it her fault?" she asked, and Percy got the feeling that she was playing him.

"Um, uh.." he swallowed. "She didn't teach me that well so I had to stay a little to teach myself better!" Even he thought that it was a ridiculous excuse.

"Really?" He nodded, just going along with it. "Then why is it that you're earlier than the time you should be here? I'd say that she let you out at the right time, and by then your fingers were bleeding. You had to slow down in walking to clean it properly, right?" She was smiling creepily at him, as if daring him to lie to her.

He didn't need to. He was a Fish-boy for a reason.

Chaos chuckled. "That is what I'm going to teach you today."

Percy looked up, interested. "What is it?"

"Portals."

* * *

_"Ugh. I. Can't. Freaking. Do it!" you say, stressing each word with a thrust of the hand, trying in vain to make a portal. You withdraw your hands, and thrust out with concentrated power within them. A small vortex opens in front of you, as big as a golf ball in size. It vanishes after about five seconds._

_"Ugh!" you stomp your feet in frustration, activating a small tremor. The woman in front of you spreads her hands, and the trembling of the earth stops. She looks at you, disappointed. You look down at your feet in shame._

_"I can't do it. I'm sorry," you say miserably. Archery isn't as frustrating as this, but still frustrating nonetheless. Things do not attend to your cause._

_"Don't be," she says gently. "It is your first time. It's natural that you couldn't do it. But when you get the hang of using those powers, the other lessons will be a piece of cake." The statement she told you really relaxed you. You sense that she is going to say something more. You look up._

_The creator smiles kindly. She rests her hand on your shoulder, squeezing it to calm you down. As she did, you notice the surroundings fade. "The thing is to control your emotions."_

_You look at her, confused. "As a creator, there is only one thing you can't control. Sure, you can control just about everything. But remember," she adds, and you lean in anxiously, feeling a pull tugging you away as her figure begins to blur. "Your emotions control you; and therefore, it controls anything and everything you do. Emotions control the world."_

_You try to thank her, but she is already gone._

* * *

**Alright, now. First things first.**

**The italics, if ever you don't know what they are, _even_ if I already put much hints to what it is, well, those are dreams. They're memories I put in the form of dreams. And I got the point-of-view idea from... I dunno, somewhere. The verb tenses are what I got from this cool new book by Peter Lerangis (I think you know who that is). I know, I'm creative, huh?**

**Um, next. Answer to some reviews; now, I won't put the name, 'cause these might also be your answers.  
-Percy can't ignore the Ancient Laws just because he's the heir. Soon, he's gonna be titled the one who made it, and it would make him look like a hypocrite.  
-I'm sorry for Travis's death, to those who don't want him to be. He won't have anymore role in the story except for a freeloader. But Leo- well, _that's_ a different story. *wink wink***

**Lastly: Part of the reason that this was late is that I was planning another story. It's just planning, I haven't made the whole plot yet, but I will. The pairing.. that's for me to know, and you to find out ;) AND**

**(optional) I've finally made something that modern teenagers have! A Twitter account! It's _Ice SmartzyFan_. I'm not asking you to follow and such, but it's just that I've got so many things in my mind that I want to release behind a pseudo (when I post it with my real name, people'll think I'm weird). Who knows, maybe I'll 'slip' some.. things.. PALO MI!**

**REVIEW! ~SMARTZYFAN**


	7. A Little Revelation

**Well that was fun. The Philippines got whipped by a typhoon, which gave me a lot of time to write. I had a looooooong weekend. :) Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7: A Little Revelation

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, thanks," she replied, looking around her tent. It sure was cozy. "By the way," she added, and her fellow hunter raised an eyebrow. "Is Thalia out yet? We've been here for quite a while, and she still hasn't come out."

The hunter blinked twice and poked her head outside, before turning back to her and shaking her head. "No, not yet. You talked to her earlier, right?" she inquired. "Didn't she tell you why she ran off like that?"

The daughter of Athena shrugged. "She didn't want to tell me. I guess she needed her time to think."

The girl in front of her nodded. "Well then, I'll leave you now." She made to get out of the tent when someone else ducked in before she could. It was the moon goddess, Artemis.

Annabeth stood up and both of them bowed respectfully. "Milady," they greeted. She nodded and waved them off. "I wish to talk to you, Annabeth. Alone," she added, seeing as the other hunter made no move to get out. She smiled sheepishly and left the tent. The daughter of Athena faced her mistress nervously.

"What do you want to talk about, Lady Artemis?"

The goddess smiled gently, sensing her edginess. "You need not to be nervous around me, dear Annabeth," she soothed, which made the girl calm down a little. "My hunters are my companions, sisters-in-arms, my adoptive daughters. They should feel at ease with me, and not to worry, you would soon feel the same." The girl closed her eyes and took a deep breath, nodding.

"So what do you want to talk about, milady?" she asked once she'd opened her eyes.

"Have the hunters told you of the practices that we do?"

She thought about it for a while. "Actually, no. They only showed me around and introduced themselves."

Artemis nodded in approval. "That's good, because it's better if I'm going to tell you myself," she said as they walked out of the tent and went around the camp. "By the way, where is Thalia?"

Annabeth shrugged. "She's been in her tent after she went out of yours. It's something that you talked about, I guess," she replied, looking at her mistress curiously. "Is it really?"

The goddess frowned. "I don't think so," she said, her mind making up a good story to cover whatever they had talked about. She certainly didn't want to tell his girlfriend that they were talking about _him. _"She was... telling me something and I was listening when she just excused herself out."

The daughter of Athena frowned with her. "That's weird. But I guess with all that's happening, she's bound to be like that," she remarked thoughtfully. "Was it about.. Percy?"

The name made her stop in her tracks, which automatically had the new hunter stop as well. _Ugh,_ Artemis thought tiredly, _Sometimes I really hate smart people. _They figure out all the hidden junk so fast without even realizing it.

"Yes it was," she found herself saying, before cursing herself for the slip. She added before the daughter of Athena thought of something else and unwanted, "She was really saddened of her cousin's death. Guess I couldn't blame her," she mumbled to herself as an afterthought, thinking that the hunter didn't hear her, which she did. She just looked at her mistress oddly before drifting her eyes to the ground, obviously thinking of her late boyfriend.

Her train of thought crashed when Artemis cleared her throat. She gestured around the dining area, which consisted of a large wooden table and tree logs as seats. "Everyday, there are different hunters who will cook, hunt, and clean," she began explaining. "For example; two or three hunters will hunt for the food, then give it to three more who will prepare and cook it, and then finally when all of us are finished eating, we'll give it to the one who is responsible for washing."

Annabeth was nodding in understanding. The goddess continued, "Since you are our latest addition, you will get to do your turns between the three last—after all the others. Ensured it is that you won't have two tasks in the same day."

After that, she led her to the nearby river. "Right here, four of the hunters will wash and hang the clothes on those cords," she pointed to the cords tied taut around the branches of the trees surrounding them. "They're also responsible for folding them properly and dropping them by the owner's tent."

As they were going to the training area, they passed by the armory. "This is where the hunters will sharpen dull arrows, knives, and if some have, spears and swords. They usually do that after training." They arrived at the training area. There were dummies huddled onto one side, and more dummies arranged in a row on the other side.

"Those," Artemis pointed to the huddle of dummies. "Are used for melee combat. Replacements are in the armory in case some get too... used." She sent Annabeth a wry smile. "And those," pointing to the row of dummies, "Are used for archery training. Two of the hunters will collect all the arrows left out, and drop them at the armory."

Finally, she led the new hunter to the borders. "Only one hunter is responsible for night watch, since we have our falcons and wolves around," she explained. "Usually, volunteers are the one to watch, whether you've done any work throughout the day or not. That's why it's voluntary."

The goddess turned to her, and raised an eyebrow inquisitively. "Any questions?"

_Not much,_ Annabeth thought, but she said, "Yes. A lot."

* * *

Nico once again came into the throne room, looking pleased with himself. Without bothering to even glance at his father, he ran to the opposite side of the room, and vanished into the shadows, where he immediately became sober.

A shadow materialized in an alley in New York, forming a young man with its dark ropes. The teen, now identified as the son of Hades, looked around at his surroundings curiously. With his dead serious expression **(see what I did there?)**, his gothic looks and his sword at his side, even the gangs lurking around at that place avoided him. He wasn't sure what they saw though.

But he was sure that he was at the right place.

He emerged from the shadows and stood before a door. The front door of Sally Jackson's apartment. He knew this would take a while as mothers would usually go into hysterics over their sons. He steeled his nerves and knocked on the door, confidently.

"Coming!" came a muffled voice from the inside. The sound of footsteps shuffled through the thin gap between the floor and the door. The door swung open. It was Paul Blofis, Percy's stepfather.

A spark of recognition reached his eyes. "You're.. Nico, right?" he asked him, still unsure. "You'd come here with Percy and his hell dog.. If I'm correct?"

Nico nodded. "Yes, Mr. Blofis," he confirmed. "May I come in? I need to talk to both you and Mrs. Blofis."

Percy's stepfather looked at him quizzically, but widened the door and stepped aside, shouting, "Sally! Nico's here to see us!"

In a blur, she already caught hold of him, hugging tight. The son of Hades has to admit, she was unlike any other woman he'd met before (especially his stepmom). She treats everyone of Percy's friends like her own children, and that's probably the best about her. Not to mention the blue cookies. She pulled away then. "Nico! How are you? I haven't seen you in a year!"

The son of Hades nodded grimly. "Yeah. A lot had happened on that year," he replied before noticing a little girl that looked to be two years old hugging the mother's leg. He furrowed his eyebrows at her in confusion, to which she reacted by hiding herself behind Sally's legs. "Who's the little girl?" he asked, looking back up at them.

Sally saw where he'd been looking, and smiled. "Her name's Andromeda. Andy for short. Percy's little sister," she stated proudly, picking up her little girl as Paul came to her other side. They made her face him, and it struck him like a blow of hard bricks.

The child was beautiful. She had her mother's slightly kaleidoscopic eyes, and her father's hair. Most of her features came from her mother, which made him look a little like his brother. Percy, whom she hasn't, and never will meet.

He felt pity for the little girl. Although it seemed better that she didn't get to meet her brother, because that will probably make her sadder. But still, it's painful that someone of your blood doesn't even know you exist. He felt for his cousin, remembering the look on Hazel's face when he came to rescue her from Asphodel. She looked extremely overjoyed back then.

Nico blinked back unshed tears and looked up at the parents, who noticed the look on his face. "What's wrong, Nico?" Paul asked, concern evident in his voice.

He shook his head and looked at them in the eye seriously. "We really need to talk."

Sally, although confused, led him to the kitchen for some beverages. After handing Andy to her husband, she poured the son of Hades a glass of coke that was left over in the fridge. It was blue. He stared at it uncomprehendingly, choosing the best words to say. The blue coke just made the damn thing harder.

"Well, Nico? What do you want to talk about?" Paul pressed as he avoided little Andy's hands, which were trying to reach for his nose. The son of Hades eerily noted that the girl was always squirming and moving in her father's hold, almost as if she had ADHD herself. He had a feeling that she'd be as energetic as—as him, when he was still the small Mythomagic-loving kid. Percy would surely love her, if only he didn't..

"It's about Percy," he replied quietly, after a few moments of silence.

The family stopped their actions at the name. Even their girl, who didn't even recognize the name, looked at him cluelessly, completely still except for her eyes. Sally raised a worried eyebrow. "Is it about why he isn't here with you?"

She didn't know how right she was. "Yes," was his simple reply.

Sally leaned forward in anxiousness. "How is he?" she asked him frantically. "Is he in trouble again? Danger?"

If only he could still wish he was. "No he isn't," he denied.

The mother sighed, and Nico could see the weary lines tracing her face. Shadows were under her sunken eyes, the result of the obvious lack of sleep. From caring for her baby girl in sleepless nights, or staying up all night worrying for her only son, he didn't know.

"What is it then? Where is he?"

He hung his head, letting his shaggy hair fall over his eyes. "He's... not with you anymore.." he replied subtly. "He's not with me. He's with my father. In his realm." He looked up only to see the mother's eyes widen in realization. "He's dead."

* * *

Malcolm was having a bad day. To put it lightly.

Well, you could count out the problem with the Romans. But that was the least of his worries; and besides, it wasn't one anymore.

After knowing that his leader had died saving his younger sister, it had considerably ruined his day. Even if his mother didn't like him for dating her daughter, Malcolm did, because when they started dating his sister had been one of the happiest he'd ever seen. The guy was cool and modest, and was probably the only one that could calm his sister down when she was on one of her moody days.

And then she leaves to be with the hunters.

Personally, he'd no problem with that, so he won't have to bother beating off guys who tried to hit on her. But it seemed... cruel, that she'd spend _eternity_ with man-hating, adolescent girls having fun when your boyfriend just died for you. If he put Percy to be the one who lived by her sacrifice, he thought that the guy'd probably commit suicide.

Then there was the problem in the Hephaestus cabin. Or bunch, as they have no cabin for the meantime. They were having a hard time deciding who was the best candidate for a counselor that they figured would make Leo proud. So of course, it led to arguments.

All he needed was a team, one who'd be willing to start some work and finish it off, no sweat (not literally). He didn't really need a leader as of now, since they were still rebuilding the camp. And for gods' sake, the Big House itself was to be completed in _a month,_ when work was started and done swiftly _without _any issues coming up. If they continue arguing like that, an age goes by before the camp's completely repaired.

The Romans have burnt everything in the Athena cabin from books to feathers, scrolls to blueprints, plans to papers. Summer schoolwork, crazy invention blueprints, Harry Potter books: all reduced to ashes. So they'd have to start over making the blueprints for the cabins. And without Annabeth with them, the job won't be as easy. Why didn't she freaking help them with the architecture _before_ she left them?

And that was all before the strange monster attack that chose the very ideal moment to strike when everything was going smooth and normal. Or at least, as normal as a hundred or so kids ranging from ten to twenty years old was repairing a whole summer camp which was once attacked by their mortal enemies. If ever summer camps have enemies.

But the strange thing about the monster attack was that no one knew what the monsters were. If ever they were in ancient Greek history, then the Athena kids haven't read about it. And _they_ always have the biggest knowledge about Greek monsters. So everyone pretty much panicked because even the brains didn't know where the weak spot of what monster was.

Lady Tyche seemed to be on their side for once, and they obliterated the monster force without much damage. Oh, and did he mention that the Athena cabin was the most damaged?

_Gods damn it! _Thunder rumbled in the distance.

Dionysus had left immediately to report what happened to the king of the gods. Hopefully they'd get some help.

Hopefully.

* * *

Artemis sighed tiredly, retiring to her tent. Surely she was new, and still almost clueless to what happens in the hunt, but being a daughter of Athena made it worse. She had so many questions that it almost made the goddess pop. Most were related to the hunt thankfully, and the rest few were... of unrelated concerns that she didn't want to repeat.

She sat on her bed, staring at the sword leaning on the tent wall. It was a good thing that the daughter of Athena hadn't seen this, or else she would've questioned her about it too. And of all the things she didn't want to share, this was the most she was unwilling to.

Well, aside from Percy's existence haunting her in her dreams, of course.

She'd started to learn the art of the sword once she'd admired _his_ skill in using it. She taught herself hidden from the eyes of the public, knowing that they'd view her differently if they found out. Of course, she used a dull, practice sword for starters. And then when she deemed herself ready, she approached Hephaestus for the sword.

"_Why do you need a sword?" he asked. "Don't you already have your hunting knives? Or were they broken? I could always fix them for you."_

_She wanted to snap at him for questioning her, but he was no slave. Heck, he could create anything he wanted, including something that might haunt you in your nightmares. So she just answered calmly, "I wanted to be skilled in different weapons," she replied, "I figured that I'd start with a sword; 'tis most common."_

_He said nothing, staring at the piece of paper, his forehead creased in concentration. Finally, he looked up. "What do you wish to engrave upon it?"_

"_Its name," she answered, and for a while there was a pause. She didn't know back then, but it was a name related to both the inspiration and the wielder. "Moonshade."_

And now, as she ran her fingers along the Greek _Σκιά_σ_ελήνη__, _she couldn't help but think. Did it really coincide that she was the one to find out about Percy, not Annabeth? Was it destined for him to become the heir to Chaos? Were _they_ fated to meet on that dream?

Suddenly, she felt more tired and sleepy. The bed underneath her was tempting. As she made to lie down, a bright light flashed through the narrow gap at the bottom of the tent flap, startling her. And then came knocking.

Artemis stood up, straightening her clothes. It could only be Apollo or Hermes, as her brother usually flashes in without warning while Hermes.. Well, he pretty much does the same thing. Sometimes his schedules are so hectic that there were two consecutive flashes with a millisecond interval. Either way, both was what a messenger god was expected to do.

She pushed open the tent flap, annoyance clear on her face. The drowsiness was gone momentarily, and she wondered why. Maybe it was because of her half-brother's presence. It makes sense. She saw who it was. "Hermes," she began, allowing irritation to coat her words. "What are you doing here?"

The god shrugged. "Business," he answered distractedly, spotting one of her daughters walking around. He smiled and waved at her lazily. "Hello, Katrina. How are you doing?" The hunter daughter of Hermes waved back. "Hi Dad. Life's treating me well so far."

"Done any major pranks?" The hunter grinned mischievously and winked. "You know better than to doubt me," she responded with a smirk, before chattering away with her friends. Hermes watched her go with a proud smile. "I'm so proud of her."

Artemis cleared her throat, and the god turned back to her. "What business?"

"Oh yeah, Dad has called for a meeting. He didn't tell what about."

The goddess regarded him testily as he shrugged. Finally she nodded. "I'll be there in a minute."

The god of travelers grumbled, "Minutes are hours for you girls." Artemis glared at him, and he raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay! I'll be going."

He flashed out. The goddess of the hunt looked around for her lieutenant, before deciding to go to her tent, seeing as she was nowhere around the camp. The moment she knocked, the flap opened up as quick as lightning, and out jumped Thalia, barely evading her mistress which was practically in front of the door. The moon goddess narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"What were you doing? I haven't seen you around the camp since you went out of my tent," Artemis stated, feeling a little left out. Thalia pursed her lips ever so slightly, that it almost went unnoticed by the goddess.

"I was thinking," she replied shortly, not keen on saying any more. She'd continued before her mistress could make a retort. "What do you need, milady?"

The moon goddess blinked, and made a mental note to ask her later. "You are in charge of the camp while I have a meeting with the gods. I fear that this may take a while," she murmured as an afterthought, before nodding to her lieutenant and flashing away. Thalia closed her eyes as she did.

When the light went out, she sighed and opened her eyes again. She returned to her tent, sure that her fellow hunters would be responsible enough to take care of themselves. She sat back on her bed, looking sideways to a picture by her bed. It was a photo taken the night when she became the lieutenant of the hunters. By the steps of Olympus, it showed herself, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover, looking content and smiling at the camera.

She was beside Annabeth, grinning with her new silvery hunter's aura. Percy was placed in between Grover and Annabeth, an arm around each of them, a grin and a slight blush on his face. The satyr looked like he just chewed some cans, his mouth all ballooned up. The daughter of Athena had a smile and a proud look on her face, as if she'd just designed the best thing ever.

And then slowly, Percy's figure faded away, leaving only the three of them. She deflated and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought. If only Annabeth had known what she'd heard.. Well, she didn't want to imagine it. _So this is how hard Percy feels it,_ she thought, remembering that her cousin always keeps his troubles to himself.

It was just, _impossible._ _He_ was impossible. Is he even a human being? Does he even _exist?_ She rolled her eyes at herself, feeling ridiculous. Of course he does. He was just... _unbelievable_—yeah that's the word—but so believable at the same time. A thought struck her.

_Unbelievable yet believable.._ It was hard to understand, but Thalia was getting something out of it. Maybe Percy was... dead; that's the unbelievable thing.. Yet he was... somehow, alive? She didn't know if that made any sense whatsoever. But because him dying was an unbelievable thing, and him managing to survive impossibly every time, which was.. _Absurd,_ she wanted to laugh at herself; _but still, it could be possible, right?_

She needed to visit a certain son of Hades, right away. Her last thought drifted away in the low currents of her memories as her being was whisked away into Morpheus' realm.

* * *

Once she opened the doors to the throne room, she was met with a rather unfamiliar sight. Note the sarcasm applied by the serious goddess of the hunt to that statement. It was as quiet as ever; no wonder there are a lot of loud voices were floating down to her as she walked up to the throne room.

She sighed; as always meetings didn't leave out all the fighting. Of course, any time now she'd get to join the shouting when Apollo—

"Hey little sis!" Speak of the devil and the devil shall come. "You're late!"

She didn't believe him, yet her eyes darted absentmindedly around the throne room, looking if she was really. As usual, the love goddess was still not here, as she likes to be 'fashionably late', as she calls it. As far as Artemis was concerned, once the other gods arrive they spend the rest of their time arguing non-stop, until either Zeus orders them to quiet down (which was unlikely, since he was one of the suspects) or everyone has arrived for the meeting.

"I am not, Apollo," she retorted calmly, sitting down on her silver throne. "And I am older than you."

The sun god snorted. "Of course, that's what you always say," he mused loudly. "But we both know that you do that just to spite me, hmm?"

Artemis gritted her teeth. "Shut up, Apollo."

"Nah," her brother grinned cheekily. "Way too much energy to spend."

Before she could respond, Zeus, turning away from Hera, slammed his master bolt to the ground, apparently having enough. The room was silenced immediately. He cleared his throat. "The meeting shall commence," he began, turning to his son. "Now, explain what happened."

Dionysus ran a hand over his face and nodded. He stood up and addressed the council. "As the brats were rebuilding the camp," he started, and Zeus tried not to show his annoyance. "A strange monster attack happened."

Athena frowned at him. "These are normal occurrences to the demigods," she reasoned before he could continue, "Unless it is about the monsters?"

The wine god glared at her. "I was getting to that," he responded, and the wisdom goddess leaned back to her seat in slight embarrassment. "The monsters were not yet seen before by the demigods. Even your children have not yet heard of it," he continued, directing the last part at Athena.

Demeter raised an eyebrow at him. "Well have you?"

He rolled his eyes. "Obviously. Those monsters were _Ordians._"

Simultaneous gasps came from the majority of the Olympians, Artemis included. Hephaestus asked, shocked, "Haven't they faded long ago?" There was a murmur of agreement between them, until Hermes raised his hand.

"Um, what are Ordians?" he asked, and everyone turned to Athena.

She took a deep breath. "Ordians are the mortals, demigods, and monsters with enhanced strength and powers under their master's command, thus the name."

"Who's the master?" Most of the council seemed to wonder this too. The wisdom goddess opened her mouth to speak, but then suddenly the room dimmed, and all of the Olympians slumped down their thrones at the sheer power emanating from the center of the room. All of their strength seemed to drain out of them at the very moment.

"_I am._" A sinister, ancient voice came loudly from everywhere. The gods, feeling like mere ants, shrank back to their seats. Artemis refused to close her eyes despite the fear she was feeling. She gripped the armrest tightly that her knuckles turned white and just glared at the floor. She thought helplessly, _Percy help me._

Her father didn't have the guts and strength to go all mighty king of the gods on... the source of the voice, whoever or whatever it was. He just sat in his throne cowering as a portal appeared in front of them, closed. It opened and they didn't get to see what was in it when it released so much light that it made their eyes burn even though averted. The sound of someone stepping out of the portal echoed in the room. The voice came chuckling darkly.

"_Feeling puny now, are we?_" it mocked, and was more clearly heard and identified as male. They still couldn't look as the light was blinding. He chuckled some more. "_Yet it is still a fraction of my power. I can't say I'm surprised._"

The king of the gods gulped and regained his prideful voice. "W-who are you?" His voice cracked as he dared not look at the blinding light. "The gods will d-destroy you!"

The male barked out a laugh, which pushed the gods more forcefully into their seats. It was a powerful dark energy wave. By now, even Zeus knew (even with his galaxy-sized ego) that the so-called 'most powerful beings on Earth' couldn't defeat this threat. Well, he was the master of those monsters that attacked Camp Half-Blood, so automatically, he was a threat.

"_Your arrogance will be your doom,_" the man mused, a hint of a smirk to his voice. "_as if it would affect me. You demand who I am?_" He cleared his throat, and released another energy wave which threw them back again as they were starting to regain their bearings. "_I am the Creator of the Universe._"

Most of the gods' eyes widened. _Chaos,_ they, save Athena, mouthed, as they were too scared to speak out loud. 'Chaos', however, saw this and scowled.

"_Chaos, Chaos, Chaos; always Chaos!_" he growled angrily, subconsciously stomping his feet. The room shook with a mighty tremble that left the gods clutching their seats for dear immortal life. "_What did Chaos do so great that she is the one you insects remember?_"

He roared again before any of them could speak (not that they had any intention to) and blasted a random god which—fortunately or unfortunately—was Ares. The war god flew off his throne to the far wall, where he leaned there, pale and unconscious. His throne was damaged and searing, which probably explains his weakened state.

"_I'd make you fade now if I wanted to,_" he declared, his voice muffled through his teeth."_But it is not part of my visit. 'Tis a visit I shall soon regret letting you live._" Another angry tremor hit the throne room, before it halted and it was almost peaceful. The light was still there.

"_I am Order,_" he said again, his voice more calm and professional-like. This time, no one moved a muscle in fear of being blasted by the ancient being now identified as Order. "_I am here to say goodbye. I will be obliterating your planet until it is nothing but a pint of stardust._"

The gods' eyes widened. "_Yes. As Creator of the Universe, I monitor every single planet, and I am not happy with your rule, _Olympians." He spat the last word venomously. It continued on, "_Through my minions, I will slay each and every mortal, demigod, god, and titan out of this world, and replace them with my own creations._" He then snorted."_My creations always rule better than hers. It is not mistaken._"

Forgetting the fear he was feeling, Zeus yelled. "No! You can't kill us because we are gods!" He stood up outrageously. "And we do not fade if the demigods—agh!"

The king of the gods glared at where Order was supposed to be—a big mistake. The light was too much for his eyes and blinded him, his irises paling into a dull grey. He slumped back on his throne, his eyes glazed over. Smoke came out of his eye sockets, as if his very eyes were burnt to the core.

Order chuckled. "_Foolish god. It's a shame that you won't see your little world end, as you know it,_" he mused, feigning sympathy. "_But of course, I will mark the elimination of your illegitimate spawns as the start of my conquer. Your imperfect creation kind will soon die out—_"

An explosion from above cut him off. The portal closed, cutting off the light that passes through. It then faded into space. Another one appeared, this time it was already open and the gods could see the outer space and heavenly objects: the moon, the other planets, comets and black holes, and billions and billions of stars, in and out of the Milky Way Galaxy.

The view was soon blocked when another being, this time a female, stepped out of the portal. Then, like the other portal, it faded into space (as in _empty_ space, not _outer_). Clad in a black silk dress that flowed down her flawless, mile-long legs, her beautiful face expressed nothing but stern regality, a firm expression that made you crap your pants with one look. But in her eyes, they could see, it betrayed many emotions and the turmoil within her. Anger, betrayal, despair, pain; and now some acceptance.

However, Order was a different story. His face was twisted in disgust. He was facing the woman with visible hatred in his eyes—or lack thereof. Now that the light was gone, the gods could see him perfectly clear. He was in the form of a tall, muscular young man in his mid-twenties. He wore an all white suit over his naturally pale skin. Blondish white hair topped his pale head, sweeping and curling attractively around his pointed chin. His face was void—void of the essential organs that made him look like a shorter, leaner, and more attractive Slenderman.

"_Chaos,_" he spat at the woman, who was now identified as the creator of the universe. But bewilderment was evident on the gods' faces; who is the real creator?

Artemis, however, was staring at the woman in wonder. This woman was _the _Chaos? The Creator of the Universe? The woman who has _him _with her? If she was here, would there be a chance that she took him with her? She glanced around, not turning her head in the slightest. It was not possible. She vaguely remembered hearing from him that he wouldn't be coming back until he was fully trained, and was a fully capable heir of Chaos. She cut herself out of her thinking stream and watched.

"_Order,_" she spat back, though it was evident that her heart was not in it. "Leave. Now. You have made your point. They've gotten your message. Now leave!"

Order's face twisted into what looked like smug satisfaction and lifted his hands in mock surrender. "_That's not the right way to treat your long lost brother,_" he chided derisively.

Cue gasps. Apparently it wasn't common to everyone that Chaos had a brother. Now, Chaos _did_ glare at him. "I do not have a brother," she said, though everyone could tell that she forced the words out. "He faded with the very first planet he destroyed!"

The only sign that it affected her brother was that he stiffened almost unnoticeably. All the playfulness left him. "_I knew I should have just destroyed you with it._"

"They worship you even more than me," Chaos remarked. "They just didn't show it. They were afraid of you."

Her brother scoffed. "_Fear. Who told them to fear me? I bet you did,_" he accused. "_I did not want them to fear me. I never did._"

"And I encouraged them not to," she replied, trying to talk her brother some sense. "They did of their own accord."

"_They were _your_ creations. They should fear you,_" he spat angrily. "_I should have known that you are claiming the universe as your own. Yet we made it together. Why did I even call you a _sister?"

"_I am not claiming it as my own!_" Chaos shouted, suddenly angry. "The universe is still your creations, but it gives you _no right_ to play with it like life is worthless!"

He went up to her face. "_See? Now I have no right with my own creations?_"

To his surprise, she closed her eyes and calmed herself down, taking deep breaths. "Leave, Order." He was about to protest when his sister shouted, "I said leave! Before I change my mind and battle you right here and now. This planet will be destroyed with us."

He regarded her resentfully, before turning to the gods around them. "_Be prepared, Olympians. Be prepared to meet your doom with this pitiful world._" His skin started to glow, up to the point that the light was as blinding as the previous. With a mighty flash, he vanished.

As soon as he was out of sight, the Olympians dropped into deep bows. "Lady Chaos, thank you for coming for us."

At this, the creator only nodded. "Rise, Olympians."

As they took their seats, Artemis couldn't help but think of the creator's similarity to herself. The way she and her brother argued was like two children arguing over a toy. Just like how she and Apollo argue about who was the better archer, or who was the older twin. She couldn't deny that she had felt what the creator was feeling, when she'd half the mind to disown this 'stupid disgusting pig' also called Apollo.

"As you have known," Chaos started, crashing her train of thought. "That was my brother, Order. We share the title of Creator of the Universe."

"But, Lady Chaos, why did he want to destroy this planet?" Athena asked, being the ever so curious one.

The creator sighed wearily. "He thinks that you do not rule this planet very good according to his standards. And mostly, the planets are my creations." She looked them in the eyes before turning away. "So he plans to destroy you and replace you with his own."

"Is there any way we could prevent that, Lady Chaos?" Hera inquired warily.

Chaos nodded. "There is. You need to change your ways, and prove to him that the gods are not only mighty and powerful, but fair and just as well," she replied, staring pointedly at a certain god of thunder. "That includes fair counseling. No tyranny."

Zeus was oblivious to the stare, but heard the t-word and started squirming uncomfortably in his seat, feeling the stares of his fellow Olympians. "But.. Does that stop him from slaughtering this planet?"

The creator raised an eyebrow at him. Artemis stifled a laugh, realizing that her father just asked an oh-so stupid question.

"Of course not!" Chaos exclaimed. Her tone made it clear that she thought the inquiry was ridiculous. Some gods let out quiet snickers. "I said: prove that the gods are _mighty and powerful._ You need to defend yourself from him."

His jaw dropped. "But, Lady Chaos.." He looked like he was trying to swallow his glowing electric cylinder. Maybe it was pride, Artemis thought snidely. "He said that.. That was only a fraction of his power! Even then, we felt... _weak._"

Chaos seemed to think about it for a moment. "I will help you."

Almost everyone perked up. "W-what?" they asked stupidly.

The creator rolled her eyes. "I will send help," she said again. "But it will not be arriving very soon. Until then, you would have to stand for yourselves."

Still shocked, and thinking what help it would be, Artemis took her turn to ask. "Until when? And what kind of help?"

"You will have to wait for one, to two decades or so," she replied, and everyone looked at her like she was crazy. Could they have held out for so long? "I will send my most powerful: my son and heir. Although he is still training; it is his choice if he is to go or not."

The moon goddess' heart jumped. Heir.. There could only be one heir, isn't there? The son part is completely understandable; if Percy was to be the next creator of the universe, he should be the son first, having similar powers but to an extent. And surely, he would choose to go and save the world he used to live in. She would soon get to see him personally in about a decade or so! Even if it was a long way to go, she was willing to wait.

Zeus stood up before bowing to the ancient being, his brothers, sisters, and children following suit. "Thank you for lending us your aid, Lady Chaos," he sincerely expressed his gratitude on behalf of the council. "We are forever in your debt."

"If you get to survive, of course," Chaos murmured jokingly, a ghost of a smile on her face. She nodded to them. "Farewell, Olympians. Good luck." And with that happy note, she summoned another portal and stepped through, before both disappeared altogether.

Her father turned to where her twin should have been, his expression irritated. "Apollo! Get your butt moving and heal my eyes, dammit!"

* * *

Percy groaned, clutching his head. He surveyed his surroundings, and soon he found himself in a forest, moonlight shining through the umbrella of leaves. He stood up, dusting off the imaginary dust on his clothes, still studying his surroundings.

"Weird," he muttered to himself. "I didn't think of anything—"

He stopped himself. _I didn't think of anything,_ his own voice echoed in his head.

He panicked, looking around for anyone in the place. "Crap," he murmured as he pinched himself hard, but felt nothing. He was now certain it was a dream.

Percy started pacing, trying to get rid of the jumpiness. He was muttering a string of curses, his hands around his head muffling the words even more. "If anyone, by chance, got into this _freaking_ dream that isn't Artemis.. I will.." His words broke off, resuming into the foul words he was speaking earlier.

A sharp snap of a twig alerted him of another's presence. He jumped, "Holy Chaos!" before he slapped his hand to his mouth. He breathed in and out, attempting feebly to calm himself. If it were Artemis, she would've told him of her presence already. Muttering, _crap, crap, crap_, he quickly spared a glance at the intruder.

_Well,_ he thought sarcastically. _There goes that only-one-will-know plan._

Sighing, he decided to face his doom. Her face contorted into shock. He had the decency to smile weakly. "Hello, Thalia."

* * *

**Oh man. The thing came unexpected, didn't it? Ha! You think Thalia would find out by.. some other way.. well guess what: powerful heir or not, Percy's still the old idiot Percy who doesn't think before acting. The situation just punctuated it.**

**Anyway.. ANTAGONIST REVEALED! But I'm pretty sure some of you are expecting that. Chaos has an evil brother, yada yada yada, but I made their story slightly different. I guess. I don't really know. It's just that Order is envious of Chaos.  
OH! And are you guys about to ask why Order has that italics, while Chaos doesn't? Well simple.. Order is more powerful than Chaos. As much as it pains the twelve year old female that types this junk, men are still more powerful than women, physically. They're impulsive. And Order is the first being, followed by Chaos who appeared out of who-knows-where.  
**

**Um.. What else.. oh. I had this mistake last chapter of not planning and telling you what to expect, and I guess it affects both of us. Because I don't plan when I forget to, so he-he. WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT CHAPTER: Thalia, Percy, Artemis, Camp, Hunt. You could probably figure that out.**

**REVIEW! And the mistakes that you managed to pick up. Something that got of hand, like accidentally putting a dead hero (that I forgot, usually Leo) in there, please tell. (I'm aLazyButSmartFanBLAHBLAHBLAH) See yah!**

**~SmartzyFan**


	8. Mo' Training Mode

**PREPARE FOR AN EXTRA LONG AN AT THE BOTTOM(not really) Sorry for the wait!**

* * *

Chapter 8: Mo' Training Mode

Before he knew it, he was running. She was too. Yet unexpectedly, she caught him in the arms, holding him in place at arms' length. Tears brimmed her eyes. He had never seen her _this_ fragile before.

She just stared at him in disbelief, as if unable to comprehend that he was really there. Unwanted tears began sliding down her cheeks, and she bowed her head, hoping in vain that he wouldn't see. She began feeling him—his strong arms, perfect jaw, and healthy physique that looks as muscular as ever, as though he didn't die. As though he was still the same.

Finally, after a moment's hesitation, Thalia engulfed him into a tight hug. He returned it with as much force. This just made the daughter of Zeus squeeze him tighter—even though he was evidently bigger than her—not wanting to let go, to lose her beloved cousin again.

She pulled away, still staring at him like he was a creature from outer space (which, in a way, he was). Her hand reared back and caught his poor face in a much expected slap.

Percy let his face get blown, unflinchingly. He stared guiltily at the side in which he got a view of after his head was whipped.

"How could you," she said between gritted teeth. "I was right out there, practically crying my heart out over your death and _here_ you are, just sleeping off somewhere and letting me think you're dead."

At this time, the son of Poseidon had the nerve to smile. "I know you don't cry over me."

Thalia opened and closed her mouth, surprised by the statement. Her face went from shock to fury, and then finally just mild anger. She sent him a hard punch to the arm. "Just don't do that again."

"What, die?" Percy scoffed, yet he was looking anywhere but her. "I can't die a second time 'cause I'm already dead."

The daughter of Zeus didn't look the least bit impressed. "Yeah; that probably explains how I could hug a _very transparent and gaseous soul_ like you."

The son of the sea god grinned. "I didn't know you used the word _gaseous._"

She scowled at him, before smirking. "_I _didn't know that you knew what the word meant." That shut him up. "Now," she turned serious, glaring at him. "Don't change the subject. You're not dead, are you?"

_Way to put a blunt end to things, Thals,_ he thought sarcastically. "I am dead. This is your dream, not mine."

"Well I think we're both dreaming."

"No, you.." he paused, thinking rapidly. "Called me here, and wanted to hug me again, so.. I became solid." He pursed his lips, hoping she would buy it. "You're that powerful, Thals."

She merely raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?" she said challengingly. "Well I'm not a daughter of Hades, so I don't think so."

He sighed in part-exasperation, part-defeat. He didn't want to though, it just came out. "I don't know," he finally said, his tone rising with fake ignorance. "Maybe Nico or Hades allowed you or something."

"Oh, so now you _don't_ know?" she asked, her tone almost as high as his but with something else very evident. "I don't want to play games with you, Percy. Just tell me."

"Tell you what? I've got nothing to tell!" he lied. But well, he had always been a flimsy liar, so of course it didn't work.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. And I hate cheeseburgers," she muttered back sardonically. "You're just like Artemis—equally frustrating. Ugh."

Percy perked up at that, and he looked at her cautiously. "What do you mean Artemis?"

Thalia glanced at him ingenuously, before tilting her head to the side like an innocent dog. "Oh, I don't know," she joked, but still very much serious. "Some talk about you being alive or something."

His eyes widened and he gripped her arms; against his will. He didn't mean it, but when he noticed her tugging on her arms uncomfortably, he loosened his grip. "What—did you say?"

The daughter of Zeus blinked at him in surprise and disbelief. Her mouth fell open. "I was just kidding," she admitted, still in shock. "You're really _alive?!_"

Taking the joke the wrong way, he looked at her as his words dried out in his throat. He let her go and turned around, unable to face his cousin. So Artemis told her?! When she knew that she was the only one he trusted with it, she still told someone? If only he knew that this would soon happen, he wouldn't have trusted her with something this... crucial.

It was then that he felt the pang of betrayal through his chest. But still, even if he believed that she told Thalia, for some reason it was just not right. It didn't sound right. She was against this—the whole girl-betrays-boy thing; she believed otherwise. Would it be possible that Artemis, one of the firm goddesses, went against her own beliefs that probably started from the last hundred years?

Percy narrowed his eyes. Yes, it could be. _Maybe she just didn't realize it,_ he thought, trying to reassure himself. He was only thinking of what Artemis had done, Thalia forgotten: something that he might regret later. Looking straight ahead, he finally answered.

"I'm not."

He could practically feel the waves of anger coming from her. "Ugh! You're so stubborn!" she exclaimed. "Why don't you spit it out now and I'll swear I won't tell anybody!"

The son of the sea god clenched his fists in indecision. "I trusted one, and I'll trust no one else," he said, his tone declaring no more room for responses. "I learn from my mistakes now. I won't trust anyone again except for my mother."

Before she could open her mouth to speak a protest, he spun around and told her, "Goodbye, Thalia. And I'm sorry."

Wordlessly and swiftly, he waved his hand at her, and she saw him fade from her very eyes. She found herself in her tent, gasping, her forehead beaded with sweat.

* * *

Thalia went out of her tent to get some fresh air. Looking at the sky, she could tell it was almost dinner time. She sighed and looked towards her mistress' tent.

"Hey," she called to a hunter that was passing by. She stopped to look at her. "Is Lady Artemis back yet?"

The hunter shook her head. "She came back from the meeting a while ago, but then went somewhere else shortly after she told us she'd be back by dinner."

The daughter of Zeus pursed her lips, in thought of where her mistress might be. Finally, after a few moments, she nodded. "Alright, thanks." The hunter nodded back and continued on her way.

Thalia had no idea where the goddess might be, so she decided to blow some steam. Merely thinking about the dream was making her angry for some reason—and her head to ache. For such a _great _liar, Percy was really hard to figure out.

After checking if the hunters were doing on what they were supposed to do, she headed to the training area. A few hunters were there; some were playing through the dummies, some were shooting targets.

She took the bow from her back and plucked out an arrow. Notching it, she imagined the dummy having his face; took aim and fired. Bull's eye. _Tell you what? I've got nothing to tell,_ he had said. She scoffed mentally. From the way he reacted told otherwise.

_Artemis... being alive... what—did you say?_ She gripped the bow tighter, trying hard not to break it. She fired, and the arrow missed a few inches on where the imaginary nose should be. So her mistress must've been lying to her all along. That's why she was so hesitant in telling.

So they were in this together? She gritted her teeth in suppressed fury. Her mistress knew where he was? She knew, and didn't tell her, his cousin? What right does she have to keep it to herself, anyway? What was she to _him?_

They could be.. _No,_ she shook her head, and raised her bow again. If ever Artemis did truly love him, then Percy won't stoop so low as to reciprocate it when he was still in love with Annabeth. Or at least, that's what Thalia thought. His fatal flaw is loyalty, so he'd most likely stick to one. But then now that she's in the hunt, would he..?

_No,_ she berated herself again. Annabeth _is_ in the hunt, but there was no way Percy would know that. Unless, he was really lying back in the dream..

Or was he really lying? Thalia wasn't too sure. She'd had dreams of her late mother after she first woke up from being a tree; the only difference was that she couldn't get to talk to her. Then again, she was mortal; Thalia reckoned that demigods, being demigods, have some privileges to a degree. So she wasn't that sure that he was lying.

But at one point, he'd said, _I trusted one, and I'll trust no one else. _He said _I'll._ Future. Dead people have no future—they just hang around in Elysium or Asphodel or get punished in the Fields. They don't have because everyday was predictable, even though they technically don't know when the next day was; which was another factor. And if ever they have, they're not dead anymore. They were reborn. Reborn people are alive.

To sum it up, only live people have futures. It means that he was, indeed, _alive._

But where was he? Why won't he just show up and tell people he's not dead? Was it that worth it to keep as a secret? Then again—wait.

_I trusted one._

_And I'll trust no one else._

She knew trust. Once you lose it, it'll be hard to regain. With loyalty as his fatal flaw, trust was basically its sibling. It makes it extra hard to regain. And she knew who lost it.

Thalia snatched another arrow out of the quiver, notched it and pulled back, aimed. Narrowing her eyes, she pulled the bowstring back up to her ear. She fired, and in a flash, the arrow was between the eyes of the new imaginary target.

She knew she was supposed to worship, respect, and never anger her father in any way, if she didn't wish to be a pile of ashes. Even if she was his daughter, gods do not like to be challenged by 'mere' mortals. She knew this, and it applies to all gods; no matter how nice they were, they had their limits. And, well, she might have crossed her line by pointing a weapon—no, _firing_—at her.

Artemis.

* * *

"You look grumpy," he noticed. "Had a rough sleep?"

"Yeah," Percy agreed curtly. "Really rough sleep." His grip tightened on the fauchard as he did the practice swings Pontus asked him to do.

"Hmm," Pontus mused, leaning forward in sudden interest. "What happened? Had a nightmare or something?"

The son of Poseidon paused mid-swing, before resuming his exercise. "Something like that."

The primordial god smiled, having a hunch on what it might be about. "Oh? Please elaborate," he requested.

Percy planted the spear-like weapon's shaft on the ground, just like he did on his first day of training. He stared at his mentor, his expression almost unreadable. Pontus looked back at him, grinning mentally; the training with his expressions was really paying off. Almost perfect. He could tell that the boy was thinking hard of something. Making a decision, perhaps?

He didn't know how right he was. Percy was choosing whether to tell him or not about his dream. Telling about the dream was would mean telling that he told Artemis about him and the other gods' existence. He was okay with that; the only problem was he didn't know how the old sea god would react. He didn't even know if he would accept or get mad about being called old.

But Pontus was different. He acted too mortal to become an immortal—or at least that's what he thought. Come to think of it, every god here acted like he and them were equal. Was it on purpose? Or was it really how they act? All powerful beings, even stronger than the Olympians themselves, treat him better than the Olympian gods did to him. What would Pontus do if he found out that Percy was keeping secrets from them?

"You know what," the sea god in front of him exhaled, breaking him out of his thoughts. "I'm getting impatient. What is it, really?"

Percy quickened his pace. He and Pontus had a lot in common, being from the sea and all. He hadn't realized it earlier, but in his teen form, the sea god acted almost like him. Laid-back, cool, and easygoing. He tried thinking from the other side; if he were the primordial god, what would he do once he found out?

_Ugh, screw it._ "Hey Pontus, can you keep a secret?"

The primordial raised a curious eyebrow. "If it's worth keeping," was his hesitant response. "Why?"

The heir took a deep breath. "I'm visiting someone in their dreams."

For a while, the god just stared at him, before his jaw dropped. "Chaos didn't know this?!" he asked in disbelief.

Percy shifted uncomfortably. "It's our secret, remember?"

Pontus nodded slowly. "Of course. I'm just... amazed that you managed to keep it from her all this time..," he muttered, half to himself. Suddenly, he looked up at the son of Poseidon and grinned mischievously. "Who?"

The boy looked at him weirdly, wondering why he was grinning all of a sudden. "Artemis," he said in a whisper.

The god blinked at him, before bursting into laughter. "You have got to be kidding me!" he chortled, slapping his trainee's back rather roughly.

"I'm not! I'm serious!"

Pontus' laughs stopped abruptly, and he stared at him. He raised a prying eyebrow. "Artemis?" He hmmed, stroking his imaginary beard just as Zeus would do. "You told her that you're still alive, somewhere in outer space, and we gods here still exist?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as the boy in front of him nodded reluctantly. "I wonder why," he remarked sarcastically, looking at his trainee with a suggestive grin.

Being the hopeless romantic he is, Percy missed the sarcasm. "She was asking me to visit her," he deadpanned, and the god's grin faded. "She was acting all strange, hugging me and slapping for being dead and such. Do you know why?"

The sea god sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "You've got no hope, my boy."

"No hope?" the heir inquired, his voice raising an octave. "Well how was I supposed to know why she was acting all strange? Are you gonna say that I know already?"

"I am," Pontus agreed, and before his trainee could protest, he added. "And it's true. You had a girlfriend, correct? Think about it. You'll figure it out; I put my money on you."

Glancing to the side, he made a screen of mist and looked into it before making it disappear. He turned back to Percy. "Looks like our lesson is done for today. Practice—soon that weapon will be weighing like empty air," he concluded and flashed out in a swirl of sea breeze.

At least he took the news quite well.

Percy stared at the ground where his weapons and water powers trainer used to be as he fell into a sitting position by his new spear weapon. He pulled it out and examined it, caressing the blade with his hands as if it was the most fragile thing on Earth. _Why was she acting so strange?_

* * *

That night, after all the other training sessions for the day, he lay on his bed thinking. He didn't even bother to sleep to visit the moon goddess—remembering the supposed divulging of his secret. Instead, he found it a great time to think.

Thinking. He wasn't used to thinking this deeply. All he ever thought of was where to take Annabeth out for a date, what was Annabeth's favorite food, what was Annabeth's taste in clothing, what type of flowers Annabeth loves; Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. He was always thinking about Annabeth. What she would say when he did this, what she would do when he did that; and so on.

He had never thought like there was no tomorrow until he got together with Annabeth. She seemed to flood his mind, clog his senses; and she also seemed to be the only one to get him back to normal. It was like, she _changed _him.

Was that what Pontus was trying to say? That Annabeth changed him? What does it have to do with Artemis' recent actions?

_No,_ he mentally shook his head. It didn't make any sense. The only connection they have was that Annabeth was Artemis'... hunter. One of her handmaidens who swore to never love and turn their backs on men.

He lifted his head and let it drop promptly, taking the previous thoughts out. Even if she was, the guy doesn't have the same restrictions, right?

Back to the subject; how was he supposed to know why Artemis was acting weird? There was always a reason when things happen. What was this reason? She dislikes him? She hates him? She approves of him? She likes him?

Percy wasn't so sure with all of them. The first two reasons shouldn't be there if she cried over him for being 'dead'. Or hugged him, or practically begged him to come see her again. It couldn't be those. The last one's not too good either, as she swore to never love men; heck, he was even sure that one look from a guy would make him jackalope stew. The third one, however, seemed an okay reason. Not to brag or anything, but he thought that he'd already gained her approval when she let him step into her chariot.

But that shouldn't mean that she won't treat him like other males anymore. There has got to be a part of her that still believed that he was the least bit typical male—arrogant, dumb, and selfish. _Oh great,_ he thought, face-palming. _Now I'm downgrading myself._

"Whatever," he said aloud, turning over. Truth be told, the thinking was making him all tired and sleepy. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, opting to have a dreamless one.

* * *

The next day, he met Pontus in the Geo-Simulator. Just like the first time he had been here, the blank room on display from inside the open door transformed into a white sand beach. He wiggled his toes, the soles of his feet digging in the sand.

Percy looked around. There, with his back to the water, sitting was the personification of the sea. The god beckoned him forward. He saw the sea respond to his gesture, the waves simultaneously pulling back towards the water as Pontus pulled his hand back.

He approached him and sat across from him. The sea god smiled. "Now, remember your first elemental training?"

The heir nodded. "How could I," he replied, and they both chuckled.

_"So where will we start?" Percy asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. "Making huge waves? Spinning whirlpools? Or just doing pure awesomeness?"_

_Pontus merely raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I think we'll start with sensory perception."_

_The trainee blinked, comprehending. After a good ten seconds, he let himself fall to the ground. "Booooring."_

_The god in front of him chuckled. "I know. But this may be your most useful skill yet."_

_"How is that useful?" he asked. "All I need is blasting this off with a powerful water slap, or killing this by doing a slice with a water sword! How is this sensory whatchamacallit going to help me?"_

_"Sensory perception," the primordial corrected. "Tell me; what would you do if you have absolutely nothing at your disposal—no sword, no water—against a powerful enemy that is about to kill you right now?"_

_"The other gods are training me on different elements, right? I'll use those," he retorted wittily. The god rolled his eyes, yet he was grinning._

_"Clever boy," he muttered. "Now let's say that you have none of those. Let's say you only know how to use a sword and control water. You can use neither right now; at least, nothing that you can see."_

_"Uh," Percy paused to think for a moment. "I'll probably find something I can use."_

_"Yes, but that would take too much time, and the enemy would already be on to you."_

_The heir sat up, pondering again. "Then I have to know where they are, and use them already?"_

_The sea god snapped his fingers. "Bingo!" he grinned. "And how would you know where they are?"_

_The son of Poseidon sensed his teacher's excitement, and grinned back. "I have to find it!"_

_Pontus stared at him, enthusiasm lost in the wind. A piece of plastic wrapper from out of nowhere flew by in silence—no tumbleweeds here. After much into the staring contest, the god closed his mouth and face-palmed. "You were so, so close, my boy."_

"Now, how would you know where the water is?" the sea god teased.

Percy merely rolled his eyes. "I have to sense it," he replied, correctly this time. "And to sense it, I have to make it a part of me."

"That's right," the primordial nodded. "Now, take this blindfold. Put it in front of your eyes as I... go do something in a bit," he said, handing the son of Poseidon a... well he actually wasn't a fan of airplanes, but he was sure this was the thing used by those people who wanted to have a nice sleep. He put the rubber strap on the back of his head and let go, and the thing smacked him in the face.

He stumbled back, not being able to see anything, and fell on his butt. He could feel the dirt and grass beneath him, and he quickly reckoned that it was a forest, of some sort. It wasn't too windy to be a plain.

"Percy," his mentor's voice floated down to him. "Stand up. Can you feel where the sea is?"

He obeyed and stood up shakily. With the blindfold, he couldn't see anything, so naturally, his hands shot out on impulse to get a hold of something. He began to walk forward.

"Um," Pontus said in a confused tone. "What are you doing?"

"I'll try to feel the sea _after_ I feel where I am. I need to at least get a visual of this place."

"Hmm, well then, I think you already know this place pretty well," the god cleared his throat. "This is the woods of CampHalf-Blood."

The son of the sea god stopped abruptly in his tracks, luckily too since his face was about to hit something. "CampHalf-Blood? You mean the real one?"

The sea god hesitated. "Yes.." He shifted his feet and straightened his clothes. "In front of you is actually a big pile of rock. I'm even wondering how you still haven't touched it yet, when your face is actually inches from it."

"Rock?" His hands swung to his front, and suddenly he was hugging a boulder. He jumped back in surprise. "Zeus' Fist!"

Pontus sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, yes, Zeus' Fist, or whatever you call it," he replied. "Get away from that, I want you to sense where the sea is from there."

Percy nodded and obeyed, taking a deep breath. After a few moments, he pointed to the right direction. He smiled when he heard clapping.

"Correct! Now tell me; how did you do it?"

"That rock was actually my favorite one to climb. As far as I remember, some jagged point faces the east side of the creek. I hugged the part just to the right of it. The creek was south of the beach, so I just did some direction thinking and pointed behind me."

The sea god was nodding slowly. "I get your point," he approved. "But in this lesson, you have to sense the sea from the sea itself, rather than from photographic memory. Let's change into a new location—"

"NO!" the heir shouted, before slapping his hand over his mouth in embarrassment. Pontus raised an eyebrow. "I mean, can't we stay for a while longer?"

"No, we can't. Your training has a designated time and we can't stall for much longer," he replied firmly. "Besides, this is just the Geo-Simulator," he muttered to himself, half-hoping that he wouldn't hear. Fortunately, he didn't, but before he could reply, someone flashed in.

The light startled Percy's eyes even behind the blindfold. He pulled it off, aching to see who came in on their training. It was an elderly man, and he could pinpoint the age to about mid-70's. He had a white beard—same pale color as his hair—that hung low, almost touching the ground. He was dressed in a white robe with golden trimming, his feet invisible beneath the cloth. In his hand was a glowing gold staff, a clock topping it, still ticking.

"Pontus," the man greeted, and turned to the son of Poseidon. "And Perseus Jackson, the heir of Chaos. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

The said boy could only nod numbly.

"Percy," the sea god began. "This is Chronos. He is the deity of time."

The boy bowed, having known who this man was.

"Oh, no, no," Chronos' deep, hoarse chuckles rumbled throughout the woods. "You need not bow before me, young Perseus. You would have to get used to it; perhaps that will be the reason you get incinerated rather than not bowing."

"Oh," the son of the sea god shortly said. "Sorry."

Chronos chuckled again. "It's fine. Now, onto business," he turned to the primordial god of the sea. "Pontus, I am here to tell you that Lady Chaos had requested me to initiate a time difference between this planet and Earth. Two years here is a year there. Just make sure you finish training the right time before your departure. Do the computations." He chuckled once again. "I'm no mathematician; just a time traveler, thank you."

"Wait, why?" came the befuddled response of the sea god.

"I know her reasons, but I am in no place to tell you. If you truly want to know, you should ask her." He was about to flash out, when Percy stopped him.

"Wait, can I ask one more question?" he inquired hopefully.

The god of time shrugged. "Ask away, my dear boy."

"If you're the primordial god of time, why do you choose to be in that form? Don't you feel sluggish or anything like that?"

"Percy!" the deity of the sea chastised.

"No, no, it's fine," Chronos straightened his robes. "This is my original form, my boy. This is how I was born, or at least that's what I think. I appeared out of nowhere, as Lady Chaos had told me on that fateful day. And young Perseus," he called as he turned his back on them to flash out. "Don't judge a book by its cover."

His chuckles resonated through the forest as the retreating light dissipated. The two of them stared at where he used to be for a few minutes, when Percy grinned up at the sea god.

"I don't know why she asked him to do that, but I guess she heard me! Ha!" he screamed in glee like a little kid. "Now, can we stay for a while longer?"

* * *

He stepped out, and after he did so, he heard Zoë burst out laughing. He just crossed his arms as best as he could in the thick garb and pouted in response to this.

He'd worn some seriously heavyweight armor—which shouldn't bother him much since he practically wore armor every day in his demigod life, _and_ he could almost handle the wicked-looking, truckload heavy, and super sharp fauchard like it was a mere feather. Almost. But yeah, the armor still weighed him down. _And_ it made him look ridiculous.

"Remind me why I need to wear this thing, again?" he whined.

"I'm pretty sure you've had a rough experience with electricity, lightning, or whatever is connected to it," the god replied calmly, standing up from his chair. "It might not stop here. And the feeling would be worse, in case it blew up in your face."

The former huntress snorted in amusement. "It sure would."

Percy glared at her. "You're not helping."

"Now, now," Ouranos chided. "Let's start with controlling it. I'll hand some over to you."

The heir looked at him, his expression panicky. "What? Can't you, like, teach me how to make my own first? The charge might be too much for me!"

The god raised an eyebrow. "You'll never understand it if you haven't handled it," he explained. "Besides, would you prefer if I set up a thundercloud over you?"

"He'd love to," Zoë murmured loud enough for them to hear.

"NO!"

"Fine then; let's get started," the god said contentedly as he flung an orb of lightning into his trainee's waiting hands.

_Approximately five hours later..._

He braced himself for the last time as another orbs flew into his grasp. He closed his eyes and prepared for the familiar, stinging, electrifying sensation that creeps up from his hands, to his entire body, up to his spine; but felt none. Slowly, he peeled his eyes open, and he gasped at what he saw.

Right there, an orb of extreme heat energy floated upon the surface of his palms. His eyes widened. "Wow.. I did it," he marveled, his voice not above a whisper.

"Yes... and about time." Ouranos walked towards him with Percy's archery teacher in tow. "How does it feel?"

"It feels like.." He looked down on it. If he looked closely, its color was actually white, not blue like what he thought. Actually he likes to think the colors of things are blue; but that's beside the point. It was just.. Light. Pure raw energy. He said this to his teacher.

"It is," the god nodded approvingly. "You're already starting to understand. But don't try anything to control it yet or it might—" A high-pitched, girlish scream reverberated in the courtyard, followed by a loud laugh. "...not end up as you favor." He smiled in amusement.

Percy jumped out of his armor and ran to the Geo-Simulator, fixing his charred, spiked hair in an attempt to make himself look presentable to the goddess of the earth, all the while ignoring his new hunter friend's loud laughs.

* * *

"Look, I understand that this lesson needs firmness, but.."

"But?

"I'm just hurting myself."

"I am completely aware of that, Perseus Jackson."

"Are you doing this on purpose?"

"No. It's for your training."

"But..." he paused, looking down at his thoroughly sweating bare arms and torso, coated with dirt. "Aren't you disgusted by this?"

"I've had my fair share of dirt and sweat, thank you."

"Ugh," he sighed exasperatedly, resuming into punching the small mound of rock—which was once a boulder twice his size. "It's so hard talking to you."

"Because I'm too smart for you?" her smirk threatened to split her face. "I know that."

He just shook his head, not taking his mind off his exercise. "Never mind."

Silence followed them the next few minutes he punched the rock until it was nothing but grinded dust. He tried to wipe his forehead of the sweat but stopped when he just noticed the bloody knuckles. He chuckled awkwardly and turned around to face his teacher.

Gaea merely raised an eyebrow, but you could see that she was actually impressed. She gave him a wet towel which he took thankfully. He first cleaned his knuckles with it, drained out the reddish water, and used it to wipe the sweat off his body.

"I didn't think you could actually do it in.." she materialized a watch in her hand. "Four hours. Or almost the whole of our training session."

Percy gaped at her. "That long?! I thought that I—"

"Obviously you're not strong enough. But that's acceptable," she nodded to herself, before smirking. "Unlike the first time where you even had to rest, and didn't finish."

"Well it was a first time!" he frowned at her.

"Right; I know," she replied, waving the subject away dismissively. "Anyway, if you actually master it, and have much strength to, which I doubt you won't have, you could split mountains in half."

The heir looked at her in wonder, before grinning. "Sounds awesome! Beat me up."

Gaea was nodding, lifting her hand up and plucking a chunk of earth the size of his head off the ground. She dropped it in front of him, eliciting a surprised yelp. "Crush it."

* * *

He exhaled, "I didn't mean it literally."

"She also didn't. You simply did it yourself."

"I think so. Hey Mom—can I call you that?"

"Of course," she replied, smiling softly at him.

"Alright; why'd you make a time difference between here and Earth?" he asked curiously.

"I didn't really tell you everything, did I?" she sighed, and Percy thought she looked like she aged a hundred more years or so. "Then tell you I shall."

The heir stood up straighter when he noticed that the room changed back to its original look. He looked up at his mother, who was back to sitting in her galactic throne. She waved her hand at the empty space beside her, and in it appeared another throne: smaller, has a lighter color, and radiates less power. It was calling to him.

Chaos gestured to the chair. "Sit down. The seat of power is yours to take."

Dumbfounded, he took the seat without any complaints, ignoring the surge of strength that overflowed him. He looked to his mother and waited for the answer patiently.

"Now, this story isn't that connected with the true reason, but you have to know this first before I tell you." He nodded.

She cleared her throat. "Long before I was born, the universe was only darkness. No stars, no planets, not even black holes—none of it. The universe started with one being: the first being. It wasn't me."

"Wait—I thought _you _were the first born?" Percy cut in, evidently confused. "Does that mean there's someone older than you? Are you really the creator?"

The 'creator' looked annoyed of being interrupted. "I _am_ the first born. I was born in the darkness of the outer space, floating and floating with no intended destination. I had no knowledge of the world back then. The first being _had._ And yes, I am the creator.

"Continuing; I had known he was my brother since consciousness flowed into me. His name was Order. He was the perfect definition of a _brother: _caring, loving, protective. He taught me how to use my powers, and we made the universe together.

"Being the younger sister I am, he let me test out my powers and make the planets, while he settled on making the comets and stars and meteors. In honor of him as the one who taught me to be a creator, I named the first planet I made _Order._"

"Well, where is it now?" the son of Poseidon inquired after a long pause. His mother stared into space for a few minutes, as if his question went unheard. Finally, she blinked twice, and continued, the query forgotten.

"He was happy with this—even more so when I let him name the rest of the planets I created. In turn, he also let me fill in my planets the life I wanted to give it: creatures, plants, seas, and skies. He let me make all of it. And we watched over them. They prayed and worshiped us, we answered them. But of course something had to go wrong.

"With all the attention he was getting, Order's head swelled, and he began to lust for more. He had me create more planets, fill them in with life, so that more and more people would worship him. Of course, being the one that taught me, I thought that this was for the good, so I obeyed. He answered their prayers now whenever he pleased, unlike before that he answered them when needed. And the worst, he began to think that I was getting more respect than him.

"So at one time, he confronted me. There was a bad fight between us, and it was worse for me because I was forced to fight him to defend myself. I was weaker than him, and he sent me flying through Order—the first planet I made. I don't know how it happened, but it exploded and made the first black hole. I thought I was done for sure, but then suddenly the hole disappeared and my brother was nowhere to be found.

"Afterwards, I continued my life as a creator more miserably. More so when I witnessed my own planets explode—but when I came to check on there, there was no evidence to show what was the cause, but a single downward arrow carved into stone. The symbol of Order."

Percy sat there, comprehending what his mother had just told. So she had a brother he didn't know about, they had a war of some sort because of _arrogance,_ Chaos wasn't the first being, Order was more powerful than her; WHAT ELSE?

"So how does this story connect to the time difference?" he asked, a tad bit of impatience seeping into his tone.

Chaos noticed this and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You see, if I let the time here be like the time on earth, then would you like to see your mortal friends at their adult stages, knowing that you never even got to see them?"

The heir of Chaos shook his head no.

"Just what I thought," she continued, "If I halved the time difference in here from there, then they won't be too old. And another, we don't have much time if that happens."

The son of Poseidon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Order will attack Earth," she replied stoically, ignoring his gasp. "It seems that he also favors it, so he will not destroy it." This statement drew a sigh of relief from the boy. "But he will clean it of all creation and start from scratch."

"What?!" Percy chimed in indignantly, suddenly alarmed. "Does that mean he'll kill all of my friends? The gods? The mortals?"

"Yes," the creator confirmed shortly, making his eyes widen. "Though there is still one thing you can do."

"What is it? I'll do anything!" the heir practically begged; all just to not come home to meet some green-skinned aliens that will never, _ever_ replace his friends.

"Train. Become my rightful heir. Defeat my brother and end his jealousy and slaughter."

* * *

Artemis woke up with a jerk. Recognizing the familiar ceiling of her tent, she sat up abruptly, shaking her head. It's been a week, and he still hasn't come. She scoffed mentally. Maybe he was like all boys, not keeping promises. But then..

What if something happened? Before she could think about it further, a knock interrupted her thoughts. Quickly, she stood up and fixed herself, before letting the person in. It was her faithful lieutenant.

"What can I do for you, Thalia?"

The girl seemed to be having second thoughts. Finally, she swallowed and gathered up her courage, shunning the fear that her mistress might incinerate her or something if this subject was brought up. "What's this about Percy being alive?"

The next thing she knew, her lieutenant was pinned to the wall with a sword at her throat. The daughter of Zeus hadn't seen it coming. Of course, she expected to be punished or something, but not _this_ treatment where her mistress pinned her to the wall wielding a _sword_ with expertise, grace, and efficiency. Thalia breathed heavily in fear as she stared cautiously at the shaking sword at her throat.

"Where did you learn this?" Artemis forced the words out between gritted teeth.

"I.. I—he told me," she replied, her throat constricting with apprehension. Dammit, if only she had just kept quiet about it then it wouldn't result to this. But she has to fix things with her mistress about her cousin. She _had_ to know if he was alive.

"How?"

"...he was in my dream.." she answered hesitantly. "But I can explain!" she cried out before the moon goddess could do something undesired since she could see that her mistress was shaking. Either she was shaking with rage, or she was going to break down, Thalia wasn't sure.

_At least I still have the next ten minutes to enjoy my precious life,_ she thought sarcastically as the goddess lowered her sword a bit. It glinted in the artificial moonlight, almost blinding her. _Hope I live longer,_ she thought, self-pity surpassing her courage, but she shook it off and retold all that had happened, never leaving out a single detail.

By the time she finished, Artemis had lowered her sword completely. And then suddenly, she threw it to the ground in... an emotion that the lieutenant couldn't identify, but of course this surprised her and she yelped back.

"The nerve of that man! He came to you and now he thinks that I told you about him?!" she whisper-yelled in suppressed rage.

"He didn't say that!" Thalia exclaimed desperately. Great; she was about to die, _and_ just ruined his cousin's and his mistress' friendship, which was supposed to be _forbidden: _the fact that just made it better. So yeah, her last moments were not what she imagined. More so when she accidentally blurted out, "But you did."

The goddess of the hunt went silent at that. "Excuse me?"

The daughter of Zeus made an ugly noise. Was it a squeak? _EHEM,_ Thalia Grace doesn't _SQUEAK! _"You told me when," she cleared her throat uneasily. _Here goes nothing. Goodbye, world, _"When I first asked you about him. You know, when I was there after you woke up? You didn't know, but you told me."

"What was it then?" was the calm but firm question directed to her.

Dang it, this nervousness was making her like Percy—always circling around the subject before coming to the point. "You told me, in the present tense, so I figured that maybe, he was still alive—"

"Just get to the point, Thalia. _What did I say?_"

"That you love him."

Silence ensued. What she said—what she said was not a question, or a suspicion or an assumption. It was a fact—an actual, concrete fact that wasn't supposed to be one. It shouldn't be true, but it was.

"I didn't say that," Artemis defended, though her skin was turning pale at the thought of someone else knowing.

"You did—"

"I didn't say that!" she screamed this time, much more forcefully. Thalia was taken aback. By her defensiveness, she'd say it was true. But yes, her mistress thought she didn't say it, but she did. Accidents happen—that includes saying your thoughts aloud.

"You did, Artemis. When I asked you if you had a dream, you were thinking. Or you thought you were," the demigod daughter of Zeus tried to explain.

"How much did I say?" the moon goddess asked, her face never hiding her panic. Thalia didn't know what she was so worried about, though. Did she think that someone else might've heard? Was she worrying about the amount of information she gave? Or was she thinking that Thalia was going to tell it to their father?

At the last thought, she scoffed, admittedly offended. Of course not, being a hunter, her first loyalties lie in her mistress' hands. And then to the king of the gods, she guessed, since she never really liked her father from the start. He was the cause of her alcoholic mother's death, the reason she was fighting for her life everyday—and a part of the reason why Percy was gone now. It had all simply started when he closed down Olympus; if he didn't, then Hera wouldn't have gone with her stupid plan, got them pitched into Tartarus, and somehow die. If the queen was aiming for someone else _*coughcough_Annabeth_cough*_, then perhaps she failed. Epically.

"Just the confession," she answered truthfully. "But it was in the present tense, so I figured than he maybe was still alive, and you know it. You just didn't tell me," it wasn't in her tone, but the look she gave the goddess said it all.

Artemis' eyes widened. "You aren't bothered that I'm in... in.."

"Not at all," Thalia answered as nonchalantly as she could. "It was about time that you fell in love. So.. He's still alive?"

Her tone was hopeful, and the goddess didn't see any harm of telling her. But wait—he already didn't visit her because he thought.. He thought that she told her lieutenant. Then she had an idea. Maybe if she could send Thalia to try and connect with him, tell him the truth of what happened, maybe he'll resume. But of course she needed to tell Thalia first.

"Yes," she answered finally, tentatively. "He is." Her lieutenant's face broke into a genuine grin. "And I have a task for you."

* * *

**So e-yo people of the fanfiction world. I'm still alive, whoopee. Yeah, I know, _reasons, reasons, Ice. Give us your reasons._**

**Firstly, the very root of this wait, is I had an exam. That makes up the weekend before that, and the whole exam week. Second, I had my birthday, so I had to take a break once in a while. That reminds me:**

**I'M THIRTEEN, YEAH BABY! I CAN OFFICIALLY SAY CURSE WORDS! Greet me a belated happy birthday?**

**That's beside the point; the third is that I had some fever. I dunno, it came from my swelling throat, the doctor said; so I figured it's because I sang to much until my voice got old. Fourth, I'M BUSY. Don't ask with what, it's just that I am. And because of the fever thing, I try not to stay up late, 'cause my mom says it messes with my immune system. If that's true, I don't really know, but Imma believe it.**

**...OH! I remember, I kinda didn't follow the plan, you see. I didn't add what happens in the camp and the hunt, so I'm going to add that next chapter in a bit. Those parts there are not going to be lengthy, see, all they do is bash Ordian brains into the next decade. And their going to have to do that for... NAH. I already put a straightforward answer, I'm not gonna repeat it.**

**Was that extra long? I said not really! But REVIEW! I WANT DA REVIEWS! Make it a little productive, guys. Not just a robotic, _Please write the next chapter already. Thank you._**

**And oh, if you want your questions to be surely answered, make sure you have an account for me to PM to. Sometimes I forget to reply to you here so the tendency may be you repeating the question. We don't want that.**

**THALIA IS NOT IN LOVE WITH PERCY. HE'S HER COUSIN, SHE CARES.**

**~SmartzyFan**


	9. Harshness Overload: Mo' Truth and Doubts

**Hey-yo people of Fanfiction! Who's back? Me! We have another Harshness Overload chapter. Hmm.. I might make some more of these.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Harshness Overload: Mo' Truth and Doubts

"Annabeth!"

She turned and saw one of her first hunter friends. "Oh hey Jean."

Jean smiled. "Well, you ready for our hunt?"

She was always like that. The mortal was so used into saying that everything was well. _Well, that's something. Well, everything's fine with me. Well, I'm okay._ Honestly, Annabeth was sort of getting annoyed, but of course she wasn't showing it.

The daughter of Athena nodded. "Yes," she replied, glancing at her best friend's tent. "Hey Jean, did you notice that Thalia's been staying in a lot lately?"

She shrugged. "Well yeah. She doesn't strike me as a slacker person though. She was always on the move, plus with all those responsibilities as a... well, a lieutenant," she explained, taking a glance for herself to her tent. "Maybe Lady Artemis gave her some kind of permission to rest a lot than normal."

"But what for?" the new hunter asked, worriedly looking at her best friend's tent. "Is something wrong?"

Jean shrugged again. "You might as well ask her after we hunt," she replied instead, raising her bow. "Let's go?"

Sparing one last glance at the tent, she nodded. "Come on, let's go."

_Later.._

Annabeth put down the last plate of food, before giving her probably hundredth glance to her best friend's tent. She furrowed her eyebrows. She still hasn't come out, from what the other hunters told her. Why was it? There wasn't anything wrong, was it? She hoped not. She was already having a peaceful life after the recent war, nearly forgetting the most tragic thing that happened to her life; she didn't want anymore issues anytime soon.

Come to think of it—Thalia also hadn't talked to her properly once she first came out of their mistress' tent. She always had found some way to excuse herself out, escape from an oncoming conversation, and the like. And when she came out, she reacted _differently _to her questions.

She was hiding something.

What about it then? Her mind worked a hundred miles a minute. What was this information so important to be kept a secret even from her, the lieutenant's best friend? She was discussing it with Artemis, so maybe it had something to do about the hunt.

Does she have issues with the other hunters? Were they talking about Annabeth, their new recruit? The one who was once with an honorable man, who died for her sake? Or—the daughter of Athena's eyes widened at the thought—was Thalia _quitting?_

Annabeth stepped away from the table just as some hunters started to come around for dinner. She swallowed and looked towards the lieutenant's tent again. If ever she was, why would she? It sounded completely unreasonable. Unless it came with some deluxe reason—that Lady Artemis probably accepted—it didn't sound too exciting for the daughter of Athena.

She was going to ask for answers. After dinner, she plans..

"What're you planning?" another friend, Katrina, came up behind her unexpectedly, making her jump a bit. It made the girl grin devilishly.

"Uh, nothing special," she muttered offhandedly. "Just, um, planning to stay up late tonight."

The daughter of Hermes raised an eyebrow in a teasing manner. "Oh?" she said. "Then what's this I hear about asking for answers?"

Annabeth flushed. "Yeah that. The reason why I'm staying."

Her friend gave her a genuine smile. "Well then, what might your questions be?" she asked, as though trying to help her calm her nerves. The assumption crumbled down when she grinned mischievously, all Hermes and prankster-like. "Maybe I could provide you with a little info. With matching bargain." She rubbed her hands together as if they itched.

The daughter of Athena looked at the girl warily, checking her pockets. She had a pouch with her, full of golden drachmas. She just had to trust the girl to tell the truth. Besides, they're all sisters here, right? No one wants to be lied to in front of their face.

She pulled the girl away from public eye. "Why is Thalia always in her tent?" she asked, lowering her voice just to be sure. She sighed when the girl held out her palm. She put in three of the coins.

"I heard something like Artemis was ordering Thalia to sleep. It sounded like Artemis' top priority," Katrina whispered sneakily, slipping the coins into her pockets.

Annabeth thought about it. What kind of thing would be a goddess' top priority when her hunters are around to be led? Or monsters to kill? Or men to be punished? She pulled out more of the coins and offered it to the hunter. "Why was she ordering her to sleep? What was it about?"

The daughter of Hermes grinned and gladly took the money. "As far as I've heard, the purpose was to contact someone," she responded. She beckoned her sister to lean forward as she cupped her hand over her mouth, "They said that Zeus shouldn't know about it. Something about getting caught and some serious consequences. Pretty crucial if you ask me." She turned around and left, opting to join the rest of her sisters for dinner.

The daughter of Athena stood there, still understanding what her sister said. Before she could even think more about it, Artemis emerged from her tent.

She quickly went to the table and sat down with her sisters. All chatter quieted when their leader sat down and held a hand up to silence everyone. "Hunters," she began. "You may not like this, but we are going back to Camp Half-Blood."

As expected, many of the hunters groaned. One raised her hand in inquiry. "What for?"

"As we all know, the Greek camp has been attacked by the Romans, and is still rebuilding," Artemis said as her hunters nodded. "Most of them are helping in the reconstruction of the camp, and so their defenses are a bit low. Even if the war is... over," she had paused for a while, which came unnoticed by almost all of them. _Almost._

Annabeth raised an eyebrow but kept her mouth shut.

"Monsters are still roaming. And these monsters are actually... much stronger."

"How come?" It was the question running in everybody's minds.

The moon goddess opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it. She said instead, "Don't think much of it. What's important is that we defend the camp until they are strong enough to fend for themselves." She paused, sighing. "We leave tomorrow at dawn."

The hunters all nodded. "Yes, Lady Artemis."

The goddess nodded back and stood. She walked back to her tent and resealed herself in there_—for probably the next ten years,_ Annabeth thought sarcastically. Suddenly, the entrance of the tent opposite to her mistress' zipped up, and out stepped the lieutenant of the Hunters, Thalia, who was looking very much refreshed.

The girl looked around at the area, her eyes sweeping over tents, benches, logs, and fellow hunters, until her gaze locked on her best friend's. It went like that for a good ten seconds before she turned away almost guiltily and went straight into the hunter goddess' tent—_without even knocking._

Annabeth felt her mouth fall open, as well as the other huntresses. She doubted that she would survive that; but then again, she doubted herself if it was true.

* * *

She tumbled out of the way of another arrow, and released her own at the assailant. The centaur dissolved into white metallic dust.

Normally, she would've been surprised by this, but she had been encountering these kinds of monsters for the past day of their journey. She still didn't know what it was, or how it came to be like that. They hadn't really gotten much rest since the first attack, and the goddess' deal with them reminded that she'd tell them once they could properly settle down—preferably at a place where monsters won't attack them every five seconds.

The monsters kept coming, making them advance only at a slow pace. They noticed that the monsters were generally coming from one direction. It was as if the monsters didn't want them to reach the demigod camp, so of course they kind of assumed that, and formed another way to the camp a little bit faster than what they were using.

The hunters would reverse positions.

Yes, they will be making a run for it.

They have recently discovered that these types of monsters—the one that turns into white dust—are stronger than the normal, everyday monsters. It was just like how their mistress had explained to them the night before their departure. With the stronger than normal monsters that didn't want them coming to Camp, the camp's temporary immobility, and they—the hunters—needing to force their path through, she put two and two together.

These monsters have a single, similar objective: to destroy CampHalf-Blood.

And again, on a common day, monsters only aim to eat demigods, make their lives miserable, and make them feel endangered. _Not _to destroy their safe haven. Well, they _could _be controlled to destroy it, but we're talking about ordinary demigod days here.

But they could be _controlled._ There was a mastermind. A threat. A new gods damned threat.

Despite the feelings she knew that she should have, she simply felt like throwing a fuss.

"Annabeth," someone called out to her. "Here, set up your tent. We've found a safe clearing." She turned and caught a bag speedily hurled her way. Just as she finished setting it up, Artemis was calling everyone around a tree stump. She was sitting on it like some old guru, but she was sharpening her knives.

"I think it's time for everyone to know what is really going on," she announced, and instantly the hunters sat straight and silent at attention, looking at her expectantly.

Artemis took a deep breath. And so, she told them of another war and another threat, the new and improved monsters or _Ordians,_ as they were called; and their gross intentions. How they wanted to obliterate the planet, clean it up of every living being, and replace it with another specie unknown to any man who had ever lived in planet Earth.

Needless to say, the hunters' expressions were a mix of awe, fear, and surprise. It was actually a lot worse than they imagined.

Later that day, they made it to CampHalf-Blood. Artemis ordered her hunters to rest as they have been traveling the whole day—even to help in the rebuilding if they wanted to. Annabeth, feeling a _little _bit guilty, went to where her siblings were and helped them finish the buildings, cabins, and structures. Some others, who were still feeling restless, opted to pose at the camp borders in case an attack happened.

As she carefully drafted her blueprint, Annabeth heard something. Well, she really didn't mean to hear it, she never intended to since she was still busy, but she heard it.

"Thalia, any news?" It was her mistress' inquiring voice. It sounded almost hopeful, as if she was hoping for something good.

"Not any luck," came her best friend's reply. She heard a soft, distant sigh that must've belonged to the goddess. "There was no response. I would feel it if he was blocking me," Thalia's voice was low and smooth, like what a calm, firm, and composed warrior would have.

"Please try again today," Artemis pleaded, her tone almost desperate. "He needs to understand. Otherwise he might shut himself off from here completely and we won't know whether he's coming or not."

There was a pause. Annabeth could feel the tension from where she was as she smoothed out one of her siblings' blueprint with shaking hands. She wasn't supposed to hear it, was she? This might be what Katrina was saying. It was true. This was what Zeus shouldn't know—or something unspeakable might happen. They were trying to contact someone. But who? Was her mistress connecting with a _male?_

She blinked and shook her head mentally. The idea itself sounded ridiculous. The man-hater connecting with a male. _Ha, _she thought snidely. Well, if ever she was, what does Thalia have to do with it? Gods' business is gods' business only. No mortals interfering, like how mortal business shouldn't be interfered in by gods.

And then, why did her mistress sound so... anxious? About a male, of all things. And what's the big deal about him coming here? Would it be the end of the world if he hadn't come, whoever this guy was?

Oh, she didn't know how right she was back then, and Thalia seemed to be having the same thoughts as hers. Or at least, similar to it. "Alright.. I'll try," she murmured almost imperceptibly. "Do you know when he'd come back? Are you even _sure_ he said that?"

"Of course," her mistress replied, ignoring the former question. "He promised. And I know for a fact that he isn't like most men—at least until now."

"He misunderstood you, that's all," the lieutenant clarified. A dull thud of footsteps sounded, going farther and farther until Annabeth couldn't hear anymore. "I'm taking an early dinner. Might as well start already."

And all this time, she just realized that she still didn't know who this guy was.

* * *

_-*The Next Day*-_

"The Hunters of Artemis win for the... um, umpteenth time!" Chiron shouted, stammering awkwardly.

The hunters erupted into cheers as Phoebe raised her team's silver flag proudly. Meanwhile, the campers who chose to join the game grumbled quietly as they hefted their weapons and a few unconscious campers, heading towards their makeshift tents for a good night's sleep after the eventful day.

A certain daughter of Athena sighed in content as she shouldered her bow. So this is what the hunters feel when they win against the campers: pride and glee. Or, um, too much pride. But since they supported their gloats it wasn't so much counted.

She was about to go with her sisters-in-arms to go back to their tents, when she heard a sound of a bush rustling and a twig snapping. She glanced at the other hunters, who didn't so much hear it as they were still laughing and congratulating themselves, all too loudly. She looked back, and caught a glimpse of a silver bow glinting in the pale moonlight, slinking out into the darkness. She pursed her lips and made a split second decision, before creeping after it stealthily, the blessing of Artemis helping the job.

After much looking, she finally caught up to the owner of the bow. She still couldn't see who it was because their back was turned, but she was clearly a hunter with her silver hunter outfit. The unidentified hunter stopped in front of what Annabeth could see was the tallest tree at the west part of the woods. The daughter of Athena hid behind a bush, careful not to make the tiniest sound.

Meanwhile, the hunter looked around subtly, as if checking for anyone in sight, before looking up at the tree's branches. It was then that she noticed a person was sitting down comfortably, their back against the trunk. On their lap lay a squirrel, squealing contentedly as the person stroked its head.

"Lady Artemis," the hunter called in a low voice. Annabeth recognized the voice as her best friend's, the lieutenant. What were they doing here? Were they to discuss that connection to the male?

Her curiosity perked up. Finally she was to know their secrets! She knew it was wrong to eavesdrop, especially in a goddess' conversation, but the Athenian in her got the best of her. Besides, she bet it was one in a hundred that she would get caught.

The person on the branch glanced down and nodded, stopping her subconscious movement on the mammal as it squealed in protest and jumped to another tree, until it was out of sight. "Thalia. What news do you have?"

The daughter of Zeus took a deep breath. "Two. Good and bad."

The goddess sat straight up and looked down on her completely, giving her lieutenant her undivided attention. "Well? Did you manage to connect?" she asked. "I do hope so."

"Yes, I did." At that statement, Artemis jumped down from her branch to join her below. The spying daughter of Athena looked behind her and stepped back carefully, not wanting any eyes to join her direction. "I saw him again."

"What did he say?" The goddess crossed her arms, appearing inquisitive and calm, but her occasionally shifting feet betrayed the emotion.

Thalia bowed her head, looking apologetic. "I tried to explain it to him, milady, but he said he doesn't believe me. Or you," she explained. "He's going to shut himself off."

"That's why he stopped coming to me?" The lieutenant nodded at the inquiry. "He still believes that I did tell you?" She nodded again. The moon goddess slumped down at the base of the tree. "What am I to do then?"

"Honestly, I don't know, Artemis," the lieutenant admitted unhelpfully. "I'm sorry. But I remember him saying something to me."

"What?" Artemis asked, all hope drained from her voice.

"He... doesn't trust anyone anymore. And he says it was a good thing that his "gods" haven't found out his mistake yet. And he says he's sorry. For cutting himself off," she replied after much thought. "And that he'll think about it."

"So there might be a chance that he..?" The moon goddess looked up, a sparkle in her eyes showing that she found hope.

Thalia nodded. "Yes. Percy might—"

Annabeth stepped back in surprise, accidentally snapping a twig. The two girls silenced, and all that was heard was steady, even breathing from the both of them. The daughter of Athena was almost breathless with nervousness. She stared, paralyzed as the daughter of Zeus pulled out her bow.

"Who's there?" she asked to the woods. She reached for an arrow, but Artemis held her hand back and stepped forward herself. "Show yourself if you don't want to feel the wrath of a goddess!" she demanded as she glared angrily at the forest beyond them. The last thing she needed was more people knowing about him.

As if her limbs were cured and oiled, she could move again. She slinked back, carefully this time, watching it for any noise makers that could kill her. When she was sure she was out of sight and range, she stood up and made a run for it. No arrow flew past her, which was a good sign.

She ran into her tent and shut herself in. She fell back onto her bed, sweating from the run and the nervousness. She took off her parka and was left with the normal hunter garb, which made the surroundings feel a lot cooler. She stared at the ceiling, looking for any straight answers as to how the world came to be.

Percy. They were talking about Percy. Her Percy. He was going to come back. They said he was going to come back. He was still alive.

They said Thalia talked to him. Through sleep.

Artemis was hopeful. What for?

He doesn't trust anyone. Why? Because Artemis told Thalia what? That he was alive?

Mistake. He made a mistake, but what?

Why were they the ones who know he was alive?

Why would Artemis want to connect with a man?

With Percy?

She heard footsteps coming from around the miniature camp that the hunters had set up. She dug into the covers and pretended to be asleep when her tent flap opened as someone checked to see if she was.

* * *

The son of Chaos lay on his back at the black sand beach, waiting for sunrise. If he was still a son of Poseidon, he would've preferred a white sand one over this, but now, he had actually taken a liking to it.

He had woken up in cold sweat. Part of him was still asleep and resting while a part was wide awake, thinking about what happened. To tell the truth, he wasn't quite sure if he should still come or not. He just had to think about it.. Yeah, think.

Why was she so hell-bent in making him believe that she didn't do it? That she didn't betray him? Honestly, he was thinking himself if he had the right to even turn his back on her. Was she really at fault? The dream earlier didn't assure him. But why does she sue herself? Where's the infamous pride of the gods?

Why won't she put the blame on him, instead of herself? If she really didn't do it, then why does she act so defensive? Percy thought that if he didn't believe her, she'd just huff and walk off, muttering about stubborn boys. Instead, she persevered and was the one who acted stubborn. Why was that?

_Okay,_ his head was spinning. _Better recount the events._

On his first visit, which happened to be a coincidence, they promised each other; she promised to keep quiet, and he promised to continue visiting if she did so. After that, BAM. Thalia happened. He forgot to think of Artemis, and accidentally went to some other's dream. It was okay for him then, since he thought it was his fault that they met, but then she mentioned that Artemis told her that he was alive.

That triggered it. He won't visit her again, and let Thalia think that that dream was really just a dream, not a connection. But then she came again... a while ago..

_He was in a misty room. He looked around and tried to see through it, but it was too thick. And then, it started to part. After a few moments, the mist was cleared, and he noticed that he was in a beautiful meadow, complete with flowers and a creek and all._

_"Percy," came a tentative voice behind him. He recognized it and turned. "Thalia."_

_The daughter of Zeus bowed her head, unable to meet his eyes. "Artemis sent me to—"_

_"Straight to the point, are we?" he interrupted. "What does she want?"_

_"You misunderstood her. She wants to clear things," the lieutenant replied dutifully._

_He narrowed his eyes. "She told you? That's how you found me."_

_Thalia was confused, but she nodded._

_"Then it's not misunderstood. You said it yourself!" Percy exclaimed indignantly._

_"No!" she protested. "She told me after I figured it out and asked her if it was true. She was getting agitated that you were not visiting, so she sent me to clear her name."_

_A phrase caught his attention. "Why would she get agitated?" he asked, ignoring most parts._

_"Because she—" she stopped herself, and gulped. "That's not the point! You need to understand that she didn't tell anybody but me, and I already know then!"_

_He looked displeased by the change of subject, but responded. "And this would involve me how?" he asked boldly. "And how would you already know?"_

_Thalia discretely rolled her eyes. "Your wording gave it away," she muttered, too soft for him to hear. "Artemis wants you to... visit her."_

_The heir raised an eyebrow, getting interested as he knew this was similar to the subject his cousin changed. "Why? Won't she dislike that a male is haunting her sleep?"_

_The daughter of Zeus stared, unable to respond. She'd say too much if she answered. But wait, did he say that he'd come? "She won't," she settled to say, avoiding the three-letter question. "So are you visiting her now?"_

_He furrowed his eyebrows and looked away, pondering. He still wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. After what Artemis had done, he wasn't sure who to trust anymore. His cousin Thalia was under the goddess' orders, so he won't trust her as well, no matter how he should. And they're both... daughters of Zeus._

_"Tell her this for me," he replied instead. "Tell her that—that I'm sorry. Sorry if this is what happened. I'm going to block you all off. I'll keep my promise to her."_

_"What? You won't continue?" Thalia asked, alarmed. "You don't trust her?"_

_"No. She doesn't deserve my trust. Not anymore," he said firmly, his resolve strong._

_And once again, Percy waved her away like the very mist that parted for her._

Ugh, this was so infuriating! Why would she want him to visit her? What in Void is going on? If only he had Annabeth with him, she'd help him figure it out. And it would all be easier for him, with her by his side.

He ran his hands through his hair and let them stay there, entangled. He flipped to his side in frustration. He looked up when a spiked boot stopped in front of him. "Percy! You're early, my boy! Did you sleep here?"

_Huh?_ He sat up and looked out to the sea. The sun was rising. Blushing slightly, he stood up and dusted himself off. "No. Just thinking."

"Good, good," Pontus remarked. "It helps you in battle. Here," he tossed him the fauchard. "I'll teach you some fighting techniques. Get ready."

He gulped.

* * *

**Okay, so I actually forgot when I last updated, but yeah, here it is. Sorry for the short chapter guys. I also think the ending was a little bit rushed. Sorry 'bout that, you know.**

**I don't have much reason but the hellhole. You know, the hellhole for all children aging from.. 9 to 18? (I don't think other Fanfiction users are younger than that) But yeah. Sorry again. Oh, and I'm planning another story! Two actually. But I'm not going to post those until I finish what I like most. This.**

**Thank you for all who followed and faved. Thank you also for the very few who reviewed. And oh, just to clear things up, there will be NO Perlia. Sure, I'm planning another story with that pairing, but not HERE. This is STRICTLY PERTEMIS, people.**

**Not much more to say; please REVIEW. REVIEWS, people.**

**~SmartzyFan**


	10. Stars and Metaphors and False Wishes

**Hey! Here is it! The next chapter! Please read AN at the bottom! Thank you and enjoy!**

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Chapter 10: Stars and Metaphors and False Wishes

He fell to a sitting position on the hard ground, his skin glistening with sweat. He had disappointed her. Never did he want to disappoint his mentors.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't at my best—"

"I know. You don't need to apologize," the former huntress chastised him and sat across from him, examining the heir. "You looked beaten. And preoccupied. You better say it now because it's been ten years that I've noticed you like this."

It had been ten years at planet Khaos, the planet he had been transferred to, since he had started training. He never had an idea on how long that time was on Earth; he had forgotten the time difference since then, and he didn't like to ask. But Chaos' brother might have caused too much havoc at Camp, and he'd like to see his friends still intact. So he'd been training harder and harder, trying, but he couldn't as many things haunted his mind.

Like a realization that he was still too scared to admit.

Many things had changed while he was at the planet: Zoë became his best friend, Pontus had turned out to be a father figure to him, Gaea and Ouranos had become his close acquaintances, and Nyx (he was training with her at Gaea's time slot every other day) had become a rather quirky sister. His relationship with his mother Chaos was now stronger than ever, growing as they did continuous training sessions for the past ten years.

Percy had changed too; his maturity had turned to that of a late-20s adult, but he still had his jokes and pranks. With his sister and best friend keeping him young, he had enjoyed training and bonding and life altogether, despite the future responsibility hanging over his head. He had become a lot stronger compared to the son of Poseidon Percy; the latter's powers could almost compare to that of a mortal's.

He could use the fauchard perfectly well, like his very own hand, swinging and slashing and thrusting like an expert. He had also learned how to use a scythe, a similar weapon, for the last five years. It turned out that a trident was natural to him, being the son of a sea god and all. He had tried all sorts of weapons: spears, swords, maces, axes, javelins, daggers, hooks and blades, and fusions of different weapons. Some worked out well for him, and some.. He didn't even want to recall it.

His archery was now above average. He could now shoot bull's eyes from great distances. If only he could shoot faster though—that's what Zoë and he have to work on for the next ten years.

Besides all of those, he could now command fire, air, shadows, lightning, and earth at his will. He still hadn't come to control metals and ice though; his mentors still had to work on that.

And finally, he had gotten over Annabeth. He had accepted that they were over, with him as the heir of Chaos, and her as a huntress of Artemis. With what they were into, a relationship would no longer work out—he had accepted that. He still missed her, though.

And Artemis. He was still thinking of her. He had kept his promise; he had not visited her in her dreams since he found out that she broke her own promise. He had cut himself off all Earthlings, and only did he include Hades when he swore to himself that he would become stronger after Zoë had called him weak—and that was eight years ago.

His conscience tugged on him then. He had been thinking if it was right that he turned his back on her—on all the gods, on his friends—just for what she did. And he wasn't even sure if she did it. Thalia had sounded so sincere back then, and he didn't know which was true: the thing Artemis and Thalia were saying, or what he believed in.

When he had some free time, he would think. Think until his head hurt. He had pondered this for years, and yet he hadn't decided. He also believed that what Pontus had told him was connected, and tried to join the two together, but he couldn't get a clear answer.

_"You are thinking again, my boy," he noticed. "What has been bugging you?"_

_Percy hesitated for a second. "Could you tell me what you meant back then?"_

_Pontus raised a confused eyebrow. "When was it?"_

_"The time when I told you that first secret I've been keeping from all of you," he replied patiently._

_It took the god a while to remember, and when he did, he snapped his fingers. "The one wherein you were visiting someone?" he asked, lowering his voice at the latter part._

_The boy nodded._

_The god gave him a tender smile. "Do you know something?"_

_"When I found out that she told someone, I stopped visiting her, and she kept asking me to come back. It's like the time I was confused on why she wanted me to visit her," he said truthfully. "I'm really confused, Pontus. Can you, for once, give me a straight answer?"_

_The sea god considered it. "I had told you that you can figure it out right, because you once had a girlfriend?" he asked, watching as his student nodded. "What have you gotten out of that?"_

_"Um, I remembered that I always thought of her since we got together," the heir said, racking his brain for more answers. "And I became a little... uh, considering."_

_"Considering, how?" Pontus smiled when he realized he found a subject to give him the perfect answer. His amusement rose as he watched his student stammer out some answers, that he reckoned were probably false. He raised an eyebrow._

_"She, uh—I mean I consider what she thought before doing something," Percy finally replied. "And I always thought what she would do or say."_

_"So she changed you, correct? Because if I remember correctly, you were rash."_

_The boy blushed. "Um, yeah."_

_The sea god nodded approvingly. "Do you know love, my boy?"_

_"Of course," he replied without hesitation. "I love Annabeth. Of course I know love."_

_"What is it, then?" the god retorted, smirking when his student blinked, his eyes turning blank._

_"Um," Percy stammered. "It's, uh, um—it's something... um, an—ah, what makes you... uh.. Love is.."_

_"That's right," Pontus said, confusing the son of Poseidon in front of him as he was completely aware that what he'd said made absolutely no sense. "Love cannot be expressed by words. You can only feel it."_

_"Oh." the heir remarked dumbly. He leaned forward interested. "How?"_

_"Have you felt extreme care for Annabeth? Have you ever felt that you can do anything with her? Have you felt that you would take anything—pain, struggles—for her? Have you?"_

_After much pondering, he said yes._

_"It makes us stronger. Here you are, loveless, weak; it just proves my point," the sea god gestured to his student. "But what you are struggling with: is that love, changes us, my boy. It changes how we act, how we speak. It can change even immortal beings. Even Artemis." He gripped his shoulder comfortingly and stood. "Think about it."_

And so think he did, half-frustrated with the god for giving a riddle again. Sometimes, the conversation floats to his mind in training sessions, making him a bit unfocused and disturbed. After some time, he had come to realize what he meant. Why Artemis had acted the way she did. But the realization was hard to believe. It was scary. It did nothing but bother him all these years, more so when it was Zoë's turn to teach him as she reminds him of Artemis. He was aware that she had been noticing it, which leads us to what we have now.

He sized her up; after years of being together for training, they should be trustworthy to each other, right? "Have you ever loved someone, Zoë?"

She hesitated. "I think you already know this one time..," she trailed off, prompting him to remember and not wishing to continue at the same time. It was then that her eyes brightened, noticing that the topic was of.. Well, something she had been thinking about since she saw that little show down on Earth.

He nodded in understanding, having dreamt of the very scene. "What about, when after you died? You know, after Artemis' oath was lost from you."

For some reason he could not fathom, she blushed. "No," she denied, though from the way her face heated it was obvious she was lying. She added in, a bit defensively, "I may not be a hunter of Artemis anymore, but my hatred for men is still there."

He had wanted to say something about how her face had colored, but decided that being slapped was not worth the time. Instead, he asked for confirmation. "So you have felt the emotion?"

Zoë sighed. "Yes, Percy, I have. I'm not a robot," she admonished as the heir of Chaos chuckled. "Besides, I don't think you understand it too well."

That caught his attention. How would she understand it more if she had only felt it once, and most of the time, only garnered hatred for men? Sure, he himself has only loved once as well, but he had a few more crushes; namely Calypso, Thalia (when he first saw her), and Rachel. How would she? "What do you mean?" he finally asked.

"There are many types of love, Percy," she told him. "Material love, romantic love, sibling love, family love, animal love; among other things." She crossed her arms, mentally questioning herself what was wrong with her that she lectured him about something she wasn't so fond of. "It seems you only know romantic love. Typical boys."

"But—but I don't understand it too," he admitted with difficulty. "I don't get it."

"Think of it this way," the huntress improvised, thinking up a situation that would suit him. "It's like, um, a star," she stammered, feeling her face heat up when he turned his full attention to her. "True romantic love is fixed; everything goes through it but it doesn't waver. Just like a star: through many differences and meteors and explosions, and it still shines as bright, or maybe even brighter."

He thought about it, creating a small star float over the palm of his hand. He sent a gentle breeze on it, and the fire—the searing, white hot fire—grew, its diameter grown twice the size. Could it be true? Despite him turning his back on her, was she still on it? What about _her_ then?

"Annabeth," Percy murmured. Turning to his best friend, he told her, "Annabeth."

Zoë pursed her lips, contemplating. This stubborn man was a lot more loyal than she originally thought. _What would happen,_ she wondered, _if I show him what I saw?_

"Come, Percy," she decided, already walking away and expecting him to follow her. "You need to see this."

"But wait," he said, suddenly alarmed and responsible. "What about my archery lesson?"

She glanced back at him, rolling her volcanic eyes. "You can't learn properly if your mind is set on other things."

And it appeared to him that her mind was set on this too, so he had no choice but to follow. After a lot of twists and turns, they reached a place that had more of the constellations: Hercules, Orion, Perseus and Andromeda, the Centaur, the Gemini Twins; among others. They were looking down to a large glass pane—and he now understood that this was some kind of observatory.

"What's that?" he asked the huntress, pointing to where the others were looking into.

"_Katropis,_" she replied shortly. "It shows what you want it to show." She approached it and leaned over, staring. He walked beside her and was about to look, but she held up a hand, glancing back at him. "Wait."

He obeyed reluctantly. Right, obeying doesn't come easily to him. I reckoned you already know that. After some time, she beckoned him over without turning away from the glass. "Look."

Readily, he gazed into the glass. The transparency changed and made colorful swirls, swirling and spinning, which made him a little dizzy. Then it stopped abruptly, and faded into a spectacle, angled clearly like a security camera. He furrowed his eyebrows confusedly at the picture. The glass only showed an empty camp of hikers, from the looks of it.

Just then, he heard a bunch of feminine laughs. His eyes widened and he looked up, trying to find the source of the sounds. His head was pushed down, forced to look into the glass again. "Only you can hear it," Zoë's voice floated to his ears, responding to his unmentioned inquiry. "Now watch."

Many adolescent girls in silver parkas slipped into view, but two particular girls caught his eye. A blonde-haired and an auburn-haired, talking to each other. The blonde, a daughter of Athena, chatted actively with the auburn-haired girl, grinning and talking excitedly, while the other girl gave only nods and forced smiles. After the daughter of Athena went away, the girl hung her head, looking sad and vulnerable.

"Wha.. What's this?" Percy questioned. "Why are you showing me this?"

Taking a deep breath, the former huntress turned away from Katropis to face him. "I know what you have been doing."

"What do you mean?" he asked, his voice hiding its panic streak.

"Artemis hasn't slept properly for days. She always woke up terse and distressed. She always stayed in her tent when she had nothing to do, making herself miserable." Zoë bit her bottom lip. "I have never seen her like this before."

The heir narrowed his eyes as his best friend continued. "She wakes up, muttering your name. She was blaming herself," she told him. She raised an eyebrow. "Have you got anything to do with it?"

"I..," he tried to defend himself, but the words got stuck in his throat. This was it. Zoë was onto him now. He accepted quick defeat and hung his head. "Yes."

Surprisingly, the huntress hadn't hit him yet. "What did you do?"

He sighed wearily. "We first promised each other that she would not tell anyone that I'm alive, and I'll continue to visit her in her dreams if she kept it. It was her request."

She knew this already, of course. The promise. What she didn't know that it was her mistress' request. The son of Poseidon/Chaos, or whoever, really had torn away on her mistress' walls. The prideful chaste goddess really crumbled away at his feet. "Who broke their promise?" she asked stoically, though there was something under the simple question; her voice—that would probably tell that she knew she was winning. She knew, and it was true.

Percy faltered. "But she told Thalia—"

"Who broke their promise?" Zoë repeated more forcefully. She could tell him the truth, of course, about what really happened. She didn't like seeing her mistress like that, so maybe telling him the truth would send him a good smack to the head. The truth about the promise, she meant. Not _that_ truth. Not too soon. But she had to wait for the right time to say the former. Preferably right now.

"Uh.. M-me?" It came more like a question.

The girl sighed. "Look at this," she ordered. He peered over the fence wall into Katropis, feeling slightly apprehensive. His eyes widened and his jaw went slack, gaping at the scene in front of him. How could such a thing be so true?

Seen in the glass, Artemis had her head down, glaring at the floor of her tent. "If... if only I hadn't been so—so careless, he couldn't have.."

Thalia was beside her, calming her and rubbing her back soothingly as her mistress shook with silent sobs. "It's not your fault, Artemis. It's mine," she admitted, though there was a somewhat redundancy in her tone, like she had been in this conversation a couple of times. "If only I hadn't mentioned that, he'd still be with you. I feel guilty." She bowed her head in shame.

"No. If you had not heard that in the first place, you wouldn't say it. It _is_ my fault," the moon goddess said firmly yet forlornly. "I'm not even sure what he feels now. Would he come back? Chaos said it's his choice."

Her lieutenant forced a smile, which looked rather small behind the glass. "Of course he would. His fatal flaw is loyalty. He won't turn his back on his friends."

"But I already did," Percy found himself mumbling, gazing at the glass with a blank expression. His face turned into a look of self-loathing as he turned away from the looking glass, the scene becoming too unbearable for him.

The former huntress bit her lip. "I know what you had been doing all these years," she blurted out again, reminding him. "Both of you had faults. Don't beat yourself up, Percy."

He whipped his head towards her, wearing a surprised look. "What do you mean you—oh," he said dumbfounded, remembering the looking glass that shows whatever you wanted to see down in planet Earth. "So you..?"

"Yes," she said affirmatively. "I've seen everything. Even before your death was staged."

The heir's throat felt dry. He knew she could easily say that he was the one who broke a promise, and it'd be true. He knew she had seen way more than he did when he was alive while she was up here, watching from the stars. He trusted her and he still did, and he knew he'd believe her whether it was negative or positive, towards him or anyone else.

He knew for a fact that Zoë was no bias when it came to the truth. She was afraid of nothing, and if she was, she was always ready to face it. Would there be a chance that he'd be the same?

No. The son of Poseidon, adopted son of Chaos, slayer of many fearsome monsters, defeater of many gods, titans, and giants, the heir of Chaos: was afraid of a mere reality. And he wasn't ready for it.

"You didn't listen. You didn't consider the facts, but only considered your opinions," she listed, and he felt everything hurting, his insides burning with shame. "You are the one who broke your promise."

"What—what about Lady Artemis?" he managed to choke out.

"She made her own mistake and gave up. Behind the walls of her tent, instead of being the tough goddess Artemis, she cried," the huntress said bitterly. His eyes widened at the revelation. "She puts up a show outside of it. Without you, she may not be the same Artemis again. She put it to heart, and that was what was bringing her down."

Percy gawked at her, gob smacked. "W-without me—"

"It's your choice now, to show yourself tonight or let her be like this," she interrupted, not wanting any additional questions as she gestured to Katropis; the image on it was fading every second while they were talking. "But I'm counting on you to make her feel better."

Zoë then smiled and walked past him, hitting him lightly on the arm. "You should go to Lady Nyx's class. It's almost time."

He jolted back to reality. He materialized a watch and looked in it. _Dang!_ he thought. _I can't be late for her class again.._ He shivered, seeing something flash in his mind. He shook it off quickly and created a portal to take a shortcut from the Observatory Whatchamacallit room.

* * *

It had been almost time to go to his mother.

He sat there cross-legged, much like a curious, young kid playing with fire to see what it could do. He could be one with the curious part, but he wasn't so young anymore. He was trying to see what would happen if the darkness would be in the fire itself. Would something unheard of happen? He doubted it. The people here were hardly surprised by anything—if anything weren't including him, who gave them about enough.

Finally he managed to do it after many failed tries; he kind of like surrounded the energy with darkness so it wouldn't move away. If only he had thought of that earlier, well.. He should be doing something else then. Another experiment, perhaps?

He prompted the shadows to swarm the fire. Suddenly the fire darkened, the heat turning cold as well. He furrowed his eyebrows. Did he do something wrong? He took off the gauntlet on his free hand and touched the fire. It became considerably colder, its heat energy lessening. And the fire was no longer yellow; it was black. He was about to comment about it being cool—the appearance, not the feeling—when the light energy went off as well. Then the fire was out.

He cursed. He should have known that _that_ would happen to the thing. There goes all that energy: wasted. He groaned.

"Percy," she called, having watched the whole incident. She had been real bored with the show he was putting up, so she opted to stop him for now.

The son of Chaos stood from where he was looked towards her. "Yeah, Sis?"

Nyx smiled warmly. She had always liked it when he called her that. But sometimes, he just doesn't think. "Come here for a second."

He obeyed, curious. The answer he got was a smack to the head. "Ow!" he protested.

"You should have considered where to put the shadows," the goddess chastised and made a ball of flame appear in her hand. She gestured to it with her free hand. "The surface of fire is impermeable to other elements. Because if it is, it isn't fire anymore, just like what happened back there," she teased subtly, and his face reddened. "But what you were trying earlier is possible. You simply have to intrude at the heart of the fire."

Having said this, her student leaned in to take a closer look of what she was about to do. She willed the shadows underneath it to accumulate, making a very noticeable sheet of black on the surface of her palm. The fire didn't move, but stayed where it was and how it was before, untouched and unbothered. She made the shadows get in at the bottom of the accrued ball of gas, where it was blue and hotter. Color spread through it, and it was darker, but hotter by a hundred degrees that the boy could practically feel it even after he stepped back.

Percy looked in wonder at the floating ball of fire, now a beautiful combination of red and the darkest green, flaming hot black fire in the center. "What's that?"

"This, Percy, is hellfire," Nyx replied. Then abruptly, she turned her open palm into a fist, making the gas explode inside, making her hand glow at the moment. He jumped back in surprise. "But I don't have the slightest hint on how to control it. I'm a night goddess, what do you expect?" She smirked at him teasingly, making his face go red. Oh, she forgot to mention that she also liked it when he was flustered. Especially when she was the cause. How she enjoyed being a big sister!

_Big sisters—what a joy,_ the heir of Chaos thought sarcastically.

"But will I get to learn that?" he asked, giving her the eyes. That thing was plenty awesome, he had to admit. Perfect for beating Zeus' dramatic exits. Cue maniacal laugh.

Instead of replying, the goddess simply smirked. He pouted. She found this cute, and told him that. He wrinkled his nose in mock disgust. "Yuck. I'm not cute, I'm," he flipped his hair back with a jerk of his head and gave a dazzling smile. It would've been really if he showed it to someone else other than her. "Handsome."

She smiled derisively. "I don't think so," she insisted. "You were so cute when I was watching you—almost makes me want another baby," she muttered the latter part thoughtfully.

Percy heard this and suggested, the gloating forgotten. "Well, why won't you have another one with Erebus?"

Nyx shook her head, dismissing the idea. "No; I want her to be a pure Night child."

He looked at her confusedly. "How would you do that?"

"Haven't you heard of parthenogenesis, little brother?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow as if to say, _Didn't you learn anything from that girlfriend of yours?_

The heir shook his head.

She sighed, deeming her brother hopeless. They should really add mortal school lessons to his training. "It is a form of reproduction. A female gamete doesn't need a male one for fertilization. Like giving birth to a fatherless child."

"Like?" His ears caught up to the word. Man, it was as if his ADHD was dead in this planet. He could focus properly, even in the littlest details. It was just his thoughts that couldn't calm down to make him train unperturbed.

The goddess of night seemed impressed that he caught up to it. Was he really that interested? Heck; as if he had the ability to do this. "Yes. I said _male gamete_, right?" she responded. "Parthenogenesis isn't possible for humans. But for goddesses, it is. A goddess still needs a male to do parthenogenesis. They need to love each other. So in a way, the child has a father. The father just doesn't play a part in it." She smiled quirkily at the last part.

"Oh." He stared into space, processing this newfound information and putting it in folders. After quite a while, he created a watch out of thin air and looked into it. He blinked. "Well, I think I have to get to Mother's training," he informed her. He then smiled as he made a portal behind him. "Good luck with the partheno-thing!"

Percy jumped in and vanished before Nyx could reply. She crossed her arms and wore a half-amused, half-annoyed expression. "Sucker."

* * *

He finished the task with a flourish. He grinned at Chaos, who gave a small smile back. "You're improving."

"Of course," he replied, but he looked down, knowing that his mother had noticed something as well. He still had a lot to think about, and it was disturbing his training.

Chaos sighed, studying her son. "Are you in love, my son?"

His head shot up so fast that she became worried it might snap. "What? Where'd you get that idea?" he questioned incredulously. Of all the assumptions to make, _that_ was what she made. And how in the Void could he? The only girls in the planet that he knew much of was Zoë, Nyx, Gaea, and his mother, Chaos. But Zoë was his best friend, Gaea was only a friend, and the other two would just be... no. Just no.

"You had been a little unfocused in your training these past years, and only now did I notice. I asked about your other teachers too and they said they noticed it as well. When I check on you while you sleep, you were off; muttering a name I'd rather not mention. And you've been thinking too much," she listed accurately. Although he got interested by the name part, he chose not to say it because he might regret it sooner or later.

But he wasn't! He wasn't in _love._ He had gotten over Annabeth. She was happy now, with the hunt and her new sisters. So of course, being the good friend he is, he would be happy for her and let her go, deeming himself single. He _wasn't_ in _love, _was he?

"No, I'm not," Percy replied, mentally slapping himself for even doubting. "I bet this name was just my friend or something."

The creator raised an eyebrow. "Not really. More like an acquaintance, I may say, but she treats you some other way," she said smirking at him, like she knows something he doesn't.

"Who is it?" Dang, he really had to watch his tongue if he doesn't want to regret saying anything at all. _Don't answer that, don't answer that, don't answer that; just a slip of the tongue, that's all.._

"Fine; I won't." The heir of Chaos looked at her shocked, wondering whether she heard his thoughts or he said it out loud. "Yes, I heard it; and no, you didn't say it out loud. That is what I'm going to teach you now."

"Being a creeper?"

"The negative side to this, yes," she agreed, glancing at him weirdly. "On better terms, probing someone's mind. It's useful for information, of course. In battle: for reading the opponent's moves. Or for undercover missions: to see what the leader has in mind in a meeting; and so on. Yes," she added in before he could respond at the mission part. "In the future, I'd say after your twentieth year, you'll start going to missions in my time as part of your training."

Percy opened and closed his mouth, unable to speak.

"Okay!" Chaos clapped her hands, like what a head chef does to make the others work faster. Complete with the 'chop chop' thing. "Let's get started! Focus!"

* * *

The heir of Chaos lay on his stomach on the soft awesomeness of his bed, doodling something on his sketchbook. Yes, he made himself a sketchbook since he pretty much couldn't do anything other than to train; but he did plenty already and he was always beat at rest time. And bored.

He knew that he should be sleeping now to prepare for another long day tomorrow; but for one, he needs to think first, just like what he does the last ten years. Or nine. Or yeah, all the years before this day. But this time he had gotten the truth and her reaction to it. All of it was against him. The truth, the reaction; all of it. So deciding should be easier from here on out.

For some reason, it still wasn't.

He was thinking about how she would react to him showing up suddenly. He could never understand girls. They have these mood swings that he hadn't gotten used to, even if he should since he got along in fair time with Annabeth. What if when he showed up, Artemis would, this time, turn her back on _him?_ Reject him? Or if ever she accepted his apology, how would he make the situation more comfortable, if not less awkward? What would he need to say to make her happy?

He realized what he just thought and his face colored a bit. What in the Void? It sounded like she was his girlfriend! He was simply thinking of something to.. Uh... yeah, to bring the real Artemis back. He didn't like things when they were not acting like they should be. Hell, he even liked the Artemis who hits and mocks him! He felt that everything should be... right.

Percy looked down on his drawing, and then felt proud and surprised at the same time. He had drawn a full moon above the sea, casting a luminescent glow upon the dark waters. The sea appeared as if it was rising, trying to reach the moon. He understood; the moon was pulling the tides. His expression then turned to that of bewilderment. Why would he draw something like that?

He sighed and shoved the question out of his mind, closing the sketchbook and putting it away with the pencil. He rolled over to lie on his back and clapped his hands, flicking the lights off. He shut his eyes and willed his wide awake soul to drift into the river of connections. _Artemis.._

_..._

He jolted awake, terror and shock visible in his sea green, black, and silver eyes. He felt the bed, and then himself, needing to be convinced that he was awake, and indeed, that the world was real. He pushed the covers off and swung his legs out, feeling the cold kiss of the ground to his skin. He quickly dressed in something presentable and ran out.

_Oh Fates, does this mean I'm still under you now? _He thought miserably.

Just when he had decided, and was about to do it, something just _had_ to interrupt. And it wasn't in his favor either. It wasn't for something good or anything. No; it had to be about something that made his night all the _better._ But there was nothing to worry about... right? His friends were strong, and he was sure they've gone stronger, so they won't let themselves get bested by some... green, hybrid creature thingy.

As he made his way to Ouranos' palace, quickly but quietly, he thought about his dream, feeling his blood boil to its maximum heat in rage that _he _would even _dare._

_He opened his eyes to see a forest, just like where she was comfortable with. Although he felt confidence filling him to the brim, he still couldn't help but feel that something was going to get wrong. It was making him nervous. He pursed his lips and shifted on his feet, trying to get rid of the jumpiness._

Where was she? She should be here right now, _he thought anxiously._

_"Looking for someone?" an ominous voice came up from behind him._

_Percy jumped in surprise, and spun on his heel. It wasn't Artemis. And when he saw, it definitely wasn't Artemis. It was a male; a thin, slender, and faceless man of sorts. Yet he still recognized him as a piece of information in his mind clicked into place._

_"Order," he whispered, backing away nervously. He still wasn't supposed to fight him, right? Why was he here? Why did he choose to come in his dream?_

_"The all-powerful son of my beloved sister. What a nice way to finally meet you in person," the male creator replied, acid sarcasm dripping in his words. He was narrowing his eyes, examining him, as though figuring out if he was worth the fight._

_The heir didn't bother to feel offended at his silent jeer. "W-what do you want?" he demanded, though his voice was unwillingly shaky._

_The god of creation looked him in the eyes and chuckled, sensing his fear. "I'm simply here to give you some good news," he responded, before muttering with a snort, "You're too weak for me."_

_"What news?"_

_"Do you know why your moon goddess isn't here? Hmm?" Order teased sadistically._

_"Where is she?" Percy stepped forward, all fear gone when he heard that his enemy—his _Uncle_—might have done something to her best friend's former mistress. And his... friend. His only female friend that he had connected with at Earth. And... the one who... cried over him._

_"No no, I haven't done anything to her," Chaos' brother chuckled again. "Although I can't say the same for my minions, you know? They've kept her quite busy for a while now."_

_"What?!"_

_"Oh, don't get too excited," the god chided, none more too seriously. "I've just sent a short skirmish to your Camp Jupiter. Quite an army, I must say. Your beloved Artemis and her girl scouts came to join the party. Oh, plenty, plenty more fun for everyone!"_

_The heir of Chaos gritted his teeth. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Chaos wasn't so much worshipped more than you! You're just equal, if not more!"_

_"This isn't about worshippers, boy," Order growled; all traces of playfulness faded. "This is about the world. The universe. Your puny Olympians are destroying the values of fairness, strength, and humility. The Earthlings brought this on themselves. They need to be _destroyed._"_

_Percy stood there, stunned as the god of creation turned his back on him. "If you want to help them, go do it now when you still have the chance."_

_The first being held up his hand and closed it to a fist. The son of Chaos' knees buckled from under him, and he crumpled to the ground, unable to move. He watched in his place pitifully as the god vanished on the spot._

He got to the observatory room, which was, thankfully, currently empty. _I just wish that I won't get caught in here.., _he thought. He skidded to a stop in front of the fence and leaned over. At first, all he could see was his plain old self: his reflection. And then it changed; swirling and spinning like before. It soon faded into a part of New Rome, dark at night but illuminated by lights—and sparks from the battle.

Its once beautiful and ancient Roman architecture was wrecked and ruined, white metallic dust coating all over the place. From here, he could see the dome, which was as cracked and broke as the last time it had been. Dead bodies of monsters and legionnaires alike littered the ground like worthless garbage. The scene was very heartbreaking.

He willed Katropis to show the camp. The gates were being attacked by Order's minions—_Ordians,_ his brain supplied for him. Atop the walls, archers from CampJupiter were lined up and guarding, attacking the monsters charging at the gates. The barracks had been constantly loaded and unloaded of Roman soldiers, of the injured and recovered.

He frowned at this. _Where were the veterans? And,_ he took a sharp intake of breath. _Where was the hunt?_

Percy refocused the view to the Field of Mars, determination and apprehension keeping him awake. There he saw them. The hunters were fighting a group of Ordians, with only a few of the legionnaires aiding them as most were defending the gates to the camp. Artemis was off separated from them, fighting a much harder opponent, and what he guessed was much stronger: an Ordian giant. It was noticeably smaller than Gaea's sons—about 9 feet in height—but still towering over the goddess' pre-adolescent form.

It wasn't long before every hunter was disarmed, and their necks were by the monsters' blades, ready to kill at a moment's notice. He couldn't exactly hear what was going on since the view of the glass was from the sky, he guessed, so unlike the first time he had used the glass, he couldn't hear any sounds apart from the whistling wind. But from how the giant's body and shoulders shook, he could tell it was laughing; or _mocking._

He had never seen the goddess showing more fear than she had ever shown.

The giant made a come-closer gesture. An Ordian telekhine stepped forward, holding his cousin Thalia by the neck. Her expression, though, was opposite to the goddess'. Her face garnered intense hatred for the monsters, for the Ordians who even dared to threaten their mistress. His eyes widened and he felt something stir inside him when the telekhine raised a clawed hand to rake his cousin dead.

Foreign strength surged through him until it was too much, making him cry out in pain. He couldn't see anything as he shut his eyes, agonized tears streaming out of them, but he could feel the earth trembling. Suddenly he felt his sword, Anaklusmos, in his hand. In response to an impulse he had not experienced before, he raised the sword, pointing it to the heavens.

He screamed.

The sounds of thunder crashed, the loud crackling noise almost too much, deafening, for his poor ears. A flash of light seeped into his closed eyelids, and then it was gone.

Silence.

The pain and strength had faded, but he needed to lean on the fence wall to remain standing. It felt like his knees were jelly, and when he leaned over to look at the glass, his movements were sluggish. His muscles were crying and aching. What had happened?

Percy fought to contain his surprise. The monsters were gone. The giant was, too. The hunters were standing up from their place on the ground, rubbing the soreness on the part were the monsters tightly held them by. Some female Apollo campers came and treated them of their injuries. Artemis, though, was looking dumbstruck.

Down on Earth, Thalia staggered to her mistress' direction. "Lady Artemis!"

The goddess gained back her senses and regarded her. "Thalia. Are you okay?"

She nodded. "I'm fine," she replied. "What happened?"

"I don't know," the moon goddess admitted, sighing. "Maybe Father was saving you."

The lieutenant shook her head. "No; he wouldn't interfere with _me_—I'm mortal; or at least half-mortal," she disagreed thoughtfully. "Besides, I don't think I've seen anything that strong from him before."

"Right," Artemis mumbled, seeing as it was valid. She looked to the sky, where the spears of lightning came through. "But who could've—" Her eyes widened in surprise and a little of something else, and she stepped back as if this thing hit her.

"What?" the demigod daughter of Zeus asked, alarmed as she looked to where her mistress was looking. Her reaction mimicked hers and her jaw slacked. "Oh my gods.."

Percy blinked, mildly surprised that they were looking up at him. Could they see him? For a split second, he panicked. What if they found him out? But then he felt silly. What was he worrying for? Hmph, as if they could see him from all the way up in another planet.

Just then, a glow directly below him caught his eye. He looked down, and saw that the part of the floor where he was standing was glowing. He moved aside slightly, and was shocked when he saw that it was a glowing outline of himself, and what he did earlier: a man holding up a sword as though triumphantly. His eyes, involuntarily, scanned the other parts of the floor as well. Around the wall were outlines of the constellations; and he figured that he just made his own.

Something flashed in his mind. A memory of seeing The Huntress constellation shining much more than it should be reentered his mind. And then another: the stars of The Huntress constellation were shining just normally.

The heir looked down again at Katropis. Artemis was pointing at him now, and she spoke, rather mouthed, a word that he reckoned would be his doom when his mother found out. _Percy._

With wide eyes, he scrambled away from the glass and fell to the tiled floor roughly, still weak and unable to stand by himself. From his peripheral vision, he could barely see the glow of the outline of his own constellation fade.

Percy backed away painstakingly slowly with only his weak hands working to slide him backwards. Sooner or later, he found the strength he needed and stood up shakily, and ran back towards his room, his balance occasionally leaving him as he was haunted by a new problem yet again.

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**So this normal sized, 7K chapter makes up for the shorter previous. Thank you for your support and the great motivation!**

**A SHOUT-OUT TO Snowyflames FOR BEING THE 100th REVIEWER! (Ok my first time doing that haha)**

**Now. The real reason I asked you to read this AN is because I just made my sched a little more hectic. So I'm lucky I finished this chapter just in time for school tomorrow. I'm finally on the road to be A FREAKING BADASS PIANIST! Yay. Now, about the chapter..**

**Not much action, but this holds more information that it seems. It has hints for what has to come in future chapters. One is very, _very_ **obvious**. Another's a little _subtle_. And the last is hidden. _Ha!_ I'm so proud of myself. :)**

**Thank you again, for your continued support! And _please,_ people, show a little love. The review button is just one click away!**

**REVIEW! ~Smartzyfan**


	11. Down To Earth

**Hi. I'm still alive. Hurrah. Sorry for the late update.**

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Chapter 11: Down To Earth

_"Where is it?" came a voice from behind, fairly comprehensible._

_"Right there, Mike. See that? Amazing," she marveled, pointing to the new shine from the dark heavens. It made a foreign shape beside the constellations of the Huntress and Perseus, fitting in between perfectly._

_"I agree."_

_She nodded. "We still don't know the cause of this phenomenon, and we would like to hear from our astronomers as soon as possible," she stated. "Tune in for more updates regarding this new constellation, later on LCN." _**(made that up)**

Hermes snapped his fingers, and the IM vanished into thin air. He looked towards his father, who was caressing his beard thoughtfully, like some detective. As if it fits him. He suppressed a snort. "Father," he called, and the god looked up. "What do you think? Who is that?" The messenger looked toward the moon goddess as well, his eyes questioning. "You made a new constellation of sorts?"

Zeus shook his head, unable to think of a cause for this, and looked to his daughter as well. But the goddess bit her lip almost nervously, seemingly torn between, what, her thoughts maybe? It was indecision; both of them could tell. She knew something.

"No, I didn't," she replied. The messenger god narrowed his eyes suspiciously. That answer didn't sound right. He glanced at the goddess' full-blooded brother, who stared back at him, his eyes asking a mental, _What? _The god then threw up his hands, as if telling that he had nothing to do with it, before going back to messing with his iPod.

The god of travelers pressed his lips into thin, doubtful lines. He knew he couldn't pry into the subject anymore, since he didn't have any force to put against her, like some evidence that she was hiding something. And she answered that one question truthfully. He held back a sigh. Only time will tell the truth. Someday. He slumped back to his throne in defeat and looked to his father for anymore statements he would like to share.

The king of the gods sighed wearily. The occurrence was completely random. It simply appeared in the sky; like, it just appeared. For (probably) the first time, he didn't know, and wasn't aware of what had happened in his domain. And he knew that Artemis wasn't lying either. If she made a constellation from someone's soul, the stars would rearrange themselves accordingly, and he would know it before it was even finished, as the moon goddess had informed him already through prayer.

What was this then; where did it come from? Even Athena looked stumped with only assumptions in mind, he could tell.

He sighed again, coming to a weak decision. "Very well then; I think we need to probe more into this matter before we come up with a conclusion. I believe Athena will agree," he announced, glancing at his daughter who nodded affirmatively. "This meeting is dismissed."

Before anyone could do anything, the goddess of wisdom wasted no time in flashing out of there—going to her galaxy-sized library, most probably. And from there, one by one the Olympian throne room started to empty, until only the king and one of his strongest daughters were left. He looked to her. "Aren't you going to tend to your hunt?"

Artemis shook her head, not taking her eyes off the marble floor. "I am in need of peace and quiet at this moment," she replied. "I have to think about something."

Zeus nodded. "Fine with me." Before he could continue, all the shadows inside the throne room began gathering into one corner, making a recognizable figure of a man. The king of the gods seemed to understand and said, "You may enter, Brother."

Out of the shadows stepped a pale, terrifying man in a black cloak with horrified faces floating on its surface. In his arms was a pile of bones, making a shape of a crown of sorts. It was the Helm of Darkness. The man scowled at the direction he came from. "After all I've done for Olympus and I still need permission to enter," he muttered bitterly. He tried and failed to hold back a snort. "Trust the king of the gods, my ass."

"Hades," the Sky Lord called irritably. "Have you only come here to mock me?"

The god of the dead smirked. "Peace, Brother. I come here with pure intent." He turned to look at the only goddess in the room, who shifted ever so slightly in her seat in anxiousness, that almost no one noticed it. Almost. "I wish to speak to your daughter. May I?" he asked with deadly sweetness in his voice. This time, the goddess did move uncomfortably and let her eyes drift to the floor.

The king of Olympus glanced back and forth between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on. Finally, he settled for glaring threateningly at his brother before flashing back to his palace, complete with the sparks and all. The remaining god rolled his eyes.

"Show off," he muttered, and then turned to the goddess, studying her face. She kept her eyes on the floor and closed off all emotion, so that he wouldn't see anything just if he ever did see through the darkness covering her face. But then again, he was the god of the Underworld, so yeah, she was sure he could see. After a few minutes of silence, the god sighed loudly, uncharacteristically letting his feelings get the best of his cold, hard image.

"Artemis, my niece," he said. "I know that you know something."

"What?" she mumbled back. She really just hoped he would go away. For now. To avoid this talk.

"You know who that is, don't you?" Hades raised an eyebrow at her. "I know for a fact that you did not make the constellation, because I could feel the tremble of battle from down there," he remarked, making an exaggerated gesture toward the ground. "You would be too busy to make one. In the middle of a battle. Someone made it. By themselves."

"How did you know?" This time, Artemis did look up at him in the eye, her own pair showing evident suspicion and wariness. What does he have to do with it anyway? It's not like the stars are his business, she thought. Or _he_ is his business.

Then she scoffed mentally at herself, blushing. Wait; as if he was _her _business. She pushed the thought out of her mind.

"I am the god of the dead, the Lord of the Underworld," he reminded her. "I know who comes into my domain, dead or not. Even those who you turned into those things littering the dark sky. Whatever appears in my brother's domain is not worthy of my attention, but souls who do _not_ retire to the Underworld are. I never knew who that was. I have never seen their apparition." His grip tightened on the crown of bones. "You must know something."

She turned away and shook her head. "Nothing."

"I'm not your brother, but I can tell that you're lying. Look at me."

She did, but her silver eyes were harsh, fixed into a pointy glare. "I know nothing of it."

Hades looked down on her with a steely expression. _She does know something,_ he concluded, his suspicions confirmed.

To be honest, he doesn't know full well if she does. It's just that her reaction gave it away; if she really didn't know something, her reaction wouldn't be this... super. And she said, _how did you know._ Not _how would you know,_ or anything like that. But those aside; what's important is who that constellation is. Where he came from, how he simply appeared there, and most importantly, where his soul is. Uh, at least most important for him.

But wait, maybe it's.. _No,_ he thought, dismissing the idea. If he's going to help, he wouldn't at least leave something like an evidence that he did help. That's a point down for him. So yeah, it's not _him._ _I think._

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"Chiron, look at that!"

"Holy gods of Olympus," Chiron murmured as he and the campers gazed in awe at the constellation hailed in the night sky. It simply appeared there, shining so brightly that it attracted their attention. The campfire turned into a light bluish color, reflecting their states of wonder.

"Who—is that?" someone choked out. No one had an answer to that; however one of the visiting legionnaires remembered something as his eyes widened.

_"I can control the sky as well, Grace!" he told him jokingly, playing with his pen as he lay on the couch lounge comfortably, his feet propped up on the armrest._

_"Wait, how can you do that?" he retorted, obviously confused._

_"My dad's the Stormbringer. Go figure." He shrugged carelessly and took a bite out of his cheeseburger. Chewing, he looked at him. "Wru sow me ro nat errier, righ?"_

_He sighed. "I can't understand you."_

_For a while it was silent, until the son of the sea god managed to swallow the food in his mouth. "I said: that you saw me do the stormbringer power earlier, right?"_

_"Yeah; you went nuts and started raising your sword all over the place."_

_Percy furrowed his eyebrows. "You know Thor? You know, in the movie?" The other guy looked at him weirdly, but nodded, having heard of the person. "He's kinda like Jason Grace. He holds up this heavy hammer thing—I forgot the name—and lightning comes down. I tried that; it works with the storm. Only," he added after he retracted his pen back when it grew accidentally. "Jason doesn't need any weapon."_

_Jason raised an eyebrow. "Why are you talking to me like that?"_

_He merely smirked and shrugged. "No reason."_

"That's Percy," the son of Jupiter blurted out, and everyone stared at him with varying expressions. Nevertheless, he continued, "There was lightning in the sky, right? It was him. He did that."

"That's impossible! He's dead!" someone yelled shamelessly. Most of the campers glared at him as he shrunk back, while the newest didn't have clue to who he was.

"Who is he?" A bold one inquired meekly.

"He is the one who called down those lightning bolts!" Jason shouted, pointing at the constellation. A beautiful Cherokee girl tried to calm him down.

"Sit down, Jason." The immortalized Roman son of the king of the gods had not even realized that he stood up in his defiance. He took his seat grudgingly. Chiron looked at everyone present. "I think this will be part of our campfire routine. I shall now tell you the legend of Percy Jackson."

And so the tale was told. Even the Romans who were there, including the son of Jupiter, were as interested if not more so interested as the newbies to hear the legendary son of Poseidon's early life as he found out his true heritage. At times, the centaur would glance up at the constellation, as if consulting, before continuing his tale. Everyone listened with rapt attention. It was then that the trainer of heroes, too caught up in the story as his audience was, had realized that dawn was approaching, and sent everyone to bed.

Only Chiron and two more people were left, gazing at the new form in the sky, disappearing as the sun slowly rose from the horizon.

"Is it really him?" the girl asked, her eyes wide in wonder of the mysterious constellation.

"It's him, Piper. I'm sure," the boy, who must have been Jason, told her insistently. "I just don't know how he did that—that lightning bolt show if he's already dead."

"If?" She caught up to it quickly.

The Roman pursed his lips and looked down, remaining silent. The centaur beside them had listened to the conversation, and sighed. "If that's the case, then we are not sure if that constellation is truly Percy. Time will tell. For now, let us consider it a good omen as it has saved the Hunt and the Romans from the Ordians."

"So it really is true?" he asked for confirmation. "Those stronger monsters were working for Chaos' brother, someone we didn't know about?"

"Yes," the centaur nodded. It was silent for a while. "The gods didn't directly say that we have another threat coming, as to not ensue panic. In addition, it makes the camps much more stronger as they defend themselves constantly from the waves of monsters, while not making them to be too militaristic or too carefree."

"And they have to stay that way? For up to two decades?!" the daughter of Aphrodite suddenly asked incredulously, while the two jumped slightly; the reason being her so quiet that the two forgot that she was there.

"That's the maximum, as Chaos had said," Chiron replied evenly. "The help—her son and heir, as she put it; might arrive as early in a decade, or five years from now; or it could arrive as late in the next ten to fifteen years," he explained as both the immortals' eyes widened. "Either way, we have to be prepared always—if not for his arrival then for more monsters that will come to try to eliminate the camps."

Jason frowned. "Well that sucks."

* * *

"Hey, did you guys notice that new star formation?"

A daughter of Zeus rapidly whirled her head around to listen to the started conversation. While she had been cleaning up the dinner, her fellow hunters had stayed around the dining table to chat and exchange stories to pass some time of boredom. As she did, she distantly noticed that Annabeth hasn't said anything. She had checked and looked over her shoulder a couple times to see if she was already in her tent, but no; the daughter of Athena was lounging with the others, strangely quiet.

A horrifying thought struck her. What if she found out that it was him? What would happen when he comes back? _Wait_—was that even him?

Okay, so yeah, she wasn't sure if it was him. Artemis said it was him, so of course she'd believe her. All she saw was the outline, and even that wasn't too clear for her. Artemis, on the other hand, must've seen something else since she sounded so sure. But even goddesses can make mistakes. So perhaps.. She was going to wait for her to come back from that council meeting, and then ask her about it.

For now, let's listen to what the hunters know. It might be something that would alarm Artemis. _Which,_ Thalia smirked inwardly, _was someone else knowing about him._

"Yeah, just now," one of them replied. "How long had it been there?"

"I dunno," another one admitted. "I only noticed that when we were setting up camp."

"Wait I thought of something," yet another chimed in. "Do stars move? Not the shooting star type but the staying-in-our-night-sky type."

"No," Annabeth's sudden reply made the daughter of Zeus look over her shoulder. She was positive she saw a few of the other hunters jump a bit. "In our standpoint, yes the stars seem to move because of Earth's rotation in its axis, an explanation akin with the sun and moon. But generally, because of gravity, every object in space moves. They only seem stationary because of relative motion and frame of reference—"

"Woah, woah, woah, timeout." A daughter of Ares, from what Thalia could gather, raised her hands as if she was called out by the police. "In English, please."

She scowled at her, as did two other Athena girls, although her heart was not in it. Her eyes showed her turmoil. The lieutenant furrowed her eyebrows. What was she thinking about? "I mean that from here, the stars seem to move but only because of the Earth's rotation, like how the sun or the moon rises," she said less scientifically. "But in space, they _are_ moving; Earth moves at relatively the same speed as the stars, so they seem unmoving."

Sounds of awe, wonder, and understanding spread throughout the dining area. The same person who asked then said, "If that's the case, then is it possible for stars to be, like, brighter? As in, outshine the other stars?"

The daughter of Athena looked at the girl. How does Thalia know, you ask? Well, she kind of abandoned her dish-ery and watched them. What can you say? She's the lieutenant after all, and she doesn't slack off too much. Back to the subject; Annabeth was saying, "—takes hundreds of years to flare down." She crossed her arms and glanced up at the constellation. "Unless they're originally bright, then yes, they can outshine the other stars."

"Hundreds of years?" the girl marveled. "I don't really know, but I saw that when we were held by the Ordians. I was held up by the neck, so I was forced to look up. Then suddenly these lightning streaked out of the sky and killed those monsters," she explained, turning to the smarts as she added. "And then I saw that constellation appear. It was bright. It was only for a few seconds, I guess, then it dimmed, but I could still see the stars in it."

They went silent for a few minutes, pondering. Thalia was thinking about it too. What made that appear, anyway? She wasn't too sure if he had the power to do that. And then again, she wasn't sure if it _was_ him. "So it's just that?" a mortal asked, her voice sounding loud through the silence. "It simply appeared? What, is that a product of those lightning?"

The daughter of Athena shook her head. "I have to think about this," she mumbled quietly and almost imperceptibly. She stood up and went straight to her tent, glancing up at the constellation one last time, before shutting herself in.

"Well," the lieutenant said suddenly, making the others jump. "That was... interesting." She looked up at the sky, at the moon, before turning back to them. "It's almost midnight; Lady Artemis hasn't come back yet. I'll take watch and wait for her. You go on ahead and give yourselves some rest. We have a long day tomorrow." With a small smile, she nodded to them as she finished cleaning up and took her bow from its position at the wall.

After all of them had retired to their tents, she let herself fall to the ground with a weary sigh. She sat there on the ground, waiting but also watching. Her eyes were heavy, and were tempted to close, but she held on. She sighed again. These years have been tiresome as they mostly haven't got any rest. Hunting monsters, helping the camps, saving mortals, hunting more monsters, slaying Ordians..

Understatement. Almost every week they were traveling—traveling to camp, hunting monsters, wandering aimlessly..

Actually, no. They'd even be lucky if they did the latter. The hunters could use that time as rest, but of course, they weren't too fortunate to get those frequently. It was mostly dangerous to the new ones, because they haven't got too much training and their only training, perhaps, was the fight itself. For the last five years, they have gathered more hunters as they have been traveling more recently, and gained a total of about... eleven? Maybe, and that increased their number to twenty-six. The newest one, which probably arrived two months ago, was getting used to the Greek world (she was mortal).

She had gotten used to it that she forgot why she was doing it in the first place. Why were they constantly on the move, again?

_Oh yeah,_ she realized; her mistress' expectation wasn't only of her concern, but the others as well. She was waiting for the 'son and heir' of Chaos, the one who could save them from the known creator's brother and his evilness. That 'son and heir' happened to be her cousin, whose death was apparently staged. But still; she couldn't imagine her idiot of a cousin ruling the universe. Like, _oh gods,_ the world may come to be his future name.

And what did her mistress say again? That they had to wait for about... one? Two decades? Yeah, more or less that amount of time. The good thing was, they had held up pretty good at a fourth of the maximum time; and the bad news was.. Well, let's not jinx it, shall we?

Speaking of time, for some reason she felt like the days are going through, slower than before. She really couldn't explain it. But still; she felt as if it's going to be a long heck of a decade.

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After that heart-stopping talk with the Lord of the Dead, the goddess of the moon had a strange urge to check on her moon chariot, and the moon itself—the one in space. She didn't understand, but went with it. She checked and made sure that her moon chariot was looking and working fine, without anything going haywire too soon (she used her goddess-y powers to make sure, and that's _the _Artemis' moon sleigh. Duh.)

After that, she looked up at the moon. It was midnight. The moon was bright tonight; and it was full. It cast a silvery glow upon her and around, giving her surroundings a somewhat ethereal glow. She relaxed as she always had when the moon was in her presence. It eased this anxious feeling growing inside her.

Artemis had a really bad feeling that something was going to happen tonight. And it wasn't helping her already beaten nerves.

She flashed back to Camp Jupiter in her hunters' camp. She looked around and noticed that everyone by now was in their tents... except for her lieutenant, that is. She looked closely. Good thing her eyes were already closed as she flashed in there, or she would've killed her half-sister. But.. She looked more closely. She's snoozing off!

She was about to wake her up when a thought struck her. She of all her hunters deserved rest and sleep. It would be cruel for her to stop her from doing just that simple thing. So, she snapped her fingers and the sleeping girl disappeared, reappearing in her own tent. She sat by the tree her lieutenant was leaning on, but then..

Uh, she didn't mean for anything to happen right then and there, especially when she had no intention of _sleeping_, but.. Yeah, it still happened anyway.

Her vision cleared to see that she was in the middle of a forest. She used her senses to see if anyone or anything was there, but she couldn't. In this dream, her powers as the goddess of the hunt were blocked. So instead of trying to seek out the reason of why she was there, she waited.

Who would try to call her here? Some stupid enemy who simply wished to waste her time to talk trash? They always liked to do that; except she wasn't the hero. It was... _him_, she guessed, since he was the one who received that offer from Kronos the last time.

Speaking of _him_, was he the one who called her here? Had he finally forgiven her? But wait; she hadn't done anything wrong, right? Why was she blaming herself then? _Fool_, she told herself, disgusted. This love thing was making her less confident of herself. What would happen if she just forgot about him? The man-hating part in her ruled over her whole being momentarily.

_Just forget about him! _Artemis the man-hater shouted. _He, a mere boy, isn't worth your attention. It even makes you weak. You should forget about him._

_Yes,_ she found herself agreeing with her most-likely irrational self. As she solely stood there, uncertainly waiting for something, she tried to push the boy out of his mind. She tried to remember that she was Artemis, the mighty and feared goddess of the hunt and moon, prided to be a forever maiden who doesn't tolerate males. But then, she found out that she couldn't.

She gritted her teeth in frustration. She tried to do it in another way she thought of. Maybe, if she thought about his negative aspects (which tended to be much many, especially that he is a boy), that makes him easier to forget? Because now, she wouldn't give so much a single glance to an ordinary male—the stupid, disgusting, rash (and more negative adjectives) kind; so it might just be the way to help her.

He was the son of Poseidon. He was oblivious. He was slow. He was rash; he doesn't go with a plan. He was disrespectful. He was.. He was... not good in archery. He was loyal. Too loyal.

Funny. Smart when he wants to be. Strong. Humble, modest. Caring. Loving. Determined. Righteous. Handsome. Charming. He had this admirable windblown hair. Those mirthful, twinkling sea green eyes. He had a dazzling smile. He had a deep, suave voice—

"Lady Artemis?"

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**HAHA just kidding; carry on reading. :)**

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She heard it. That voice. Suddenly, she forgot that she was supposed to forget him.

She spun around, eyes widening in anticipation. His eyes were on the ground, nervously, but when she turned he looked up. Her eyes locked with his own; and he smiled that smile which made her stomach do flips—which kind of disgruntled her (though of course she refused to show it). His hands were behind his back, and it made her wonder: _What was he hiding?_

"Percy." The name rolled off her tongue like a string of common home language. It felt different, yet also familiar to her. Perhaps it was an effect for not saying his name for a long while.

"Uh, hey," he greeted, somewhat nervously as she merely stared at him. His one hand came out from behind him and rubbed the back of his neck as an unhealthy habit that showed that he was on the edge. "Look; I know I haven't even bothered to talk to you for years, but I had a reas—"

She promptly cut him off with a swift punch to the jaw. He staggered back, the hit unexpected. He held his jaw in one hand and moved it slowly, trying to get its feel back. His other hand looked shaken from behind him, but he still didn't pull it out. But right now, Artemis didn't care. Rage tinted her vision red.

"You mean excuses," she spat angrily. "I had to hold on for five long years of not seeing you. Did you have any idea what you have done?"

Percy swallowed, taking in what she'd just said. _I had to hold on._ "Five.." he mumbled disbelievingly. He eventually shook out of it. "You had five, well I was given ten long years to have a chance to go crazy," he retorted calmly, yet his eyes showed what he really felt. "I never knew what to do. I don't understand; I don't understand many things."

She narrowed her eyes, still not quite convinced. "Of course you do," she responded snidely. "You didn't understand that I was—"

"That you were blaming yourself. I'm sorry." He looked at her sincerely. For a split second, he noticeably hesitated, before presenting her his other hand that he'd been hiding. In his grasp was a white rose, beautiful and elegant like all other of its kind. He smiled meekly and offered it to her. "This is for you. I figured it to be a gift to make amends."

She paused; her breath took from her. Then with uncertain, rickety hands, she took it. Their fingers brushed feebly, making her purse her lips as her face heated. He simply looked down, biting his lip in a way that would make most girls coo.

They were engulfed in an awkward silence. Neither knew what to say. To be honest with herself, Artemis was flattered that he even went out of his way to get her something. A simple sorry would have sufficed; but she wasn't complaining. The rose was remarkably white, its petals as colored as lively clouds. She couldn't help but admire it.

The silence seemed to bother him enough. "Uhh.. What's going on in, you know, down there?" he asked, and she understood him. He was referring to their home planet. "Did something interesting go on while I wasn't... uh, up to date?"

Suddenly, the goddess' mind floated to what happened the night before. The person she saw. The constellation in the sky. No doubt, those things were interesting. But seeing as the person who had been the constellation itself was here, right in front of her, she figured that the topic wouldn't be too appealing to him. Well maybe; except that it was a bad thing for him, if ever his superiors found out.

"There was this attack at Camp Jupiter," she found herself saying. "We almost got killed—"

"WHAT?!" he exploded before she could even finish. She didn't get to react, since he was holding her by the arm, checking for any injuries. She could've been embarrassed if he wasn't so exaggerating. "Are you okay? Is Thalia okay? Annabeth?"

Ah, of course. She should have known.

"They are very much fine," she answered nonetheless, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. She then looked up at him. "What about you? What happened there while we weren't..." _in touch._

"Oh, uh," he stuttered, all of a sudden finding the forest floor interesting. "Well.. For starters, I had some good training, and I could control all of these elements that they taught me. I think there'd be more after my twentieth year—"

"Wait, twentieth?" Artemis interrupted, feeling alarmed. So she has to wait for fifteen more years, up to Zeus knows how long he will finish, before she could see him personally again? That has to suck. But wait; didn't he say something about her five years becoming his ten?

"Your number of years times two is equal to our number of years," he explained, as if reading her mind. "So you'll have to wait for about... um, five more years 'til I start the second part of my training." He frowned. "Or so they tell me."

"Oh." The goddess nodded in understanding. At least it's only five. She was a goddess. She'll be able to live through it. "What else?"

"I've met some good people," he continued. By now, he was smiling, like those people were the best people he'd met in a long time. "My trainers; they're like a bunch of my family. And I also met the constellations."

She perked up at that. "The constellations?" she asked. "Like what? Who?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "The Centaur, the Twins, the original Perseus, Andromeda, Orion; the likes," he replied. It was then that his eyes widened as he realized something, and slapped his hand over his mouth.

Artemis narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "The likes?" she pried. Then her eyes gained a hopeful tint to it, her glare softening. "Does that mean that you've seen.."

Percy swallowed thickly, and nodded, knowing who she was referring to. "Yes. I've also seen Zoë." It was still very fresh in his mind: what she told him. _Without you, she may not be the same again._

The goddess' eyes widened. "How is she there?"

He smiled at her reassuringly. He had no idea why, but it sent his stomach crazy when she saw him turn to the slightest hue of red. "She's fine. She never got over her hatred of boys—"

"I taught her well."

"But she became my best friend," he continued, shining with happiness. The goddess looked shocked, as if she had never considered her making friends up at the true Sky God's palace. "She helps me when I'm down. And... she convinced me to see you."

Suddenly, Artemis looked like she was about to collapse, so Percy took swift action and caught her by the waist. He looked over her with concern. She looked really weak. "Artemis, what's wrong?"

She shook her head defiantly. "Nothing," she lied obviously. Nevertheless, the son of Chaos carried her to the base of a tree and set her there. He sat down beside her, gazing with care. What just happened? "Seriously, Percy, it's nothing."

The boy smirked inwardly, before he stood up and took a few steps back. "Really? Then why won't we resume our talk here?" he suggested, raising an eyebrow teasingly.

The goddess tried to get to her feet, but her legs felt like lead. It was as if she climbed seven Olympuses—on foot. She glared at him. "Fine. Something's wrong. I don't know."

He frowned and kneeled beside her, examining her legs. Gee, she really had nice, smooth, long—_FOCUS PERCY! _"Can you move it?" he asked as innocently as he could.

She tried, but her legs didn't move much of a muscle.

"Um, will this help?" Hesitantly, he reached over and massaged her feet. At first the goddess couldn't feel it, as her lower half was numb. But slowly, the sensation came back to her. The massage was really comforting—she reckoned that it was because of the way he handled it: gentle and soft. Or maybe it was because of his hands.

"It did," she said, shoving the thought out of her mind.

"Try to move it." He let go of her feet, and instantly she missed the warmth of his hands. He made to sit with her, but she grabbed his arm.

"I can move it now, but.." she muttered to him as she tested her foot, swinging feebly. "But it's still weak. Massage it for me."

He stared at her, making sure if he heard right. One glare made him quickly comply.

"Now," she said as he concentrated on massaging her feet to make her feel better. "I believe we have stories to exchange."

And so they talked like the best of friends, laughing and chatting away happily. They talked about the past five years—or ten years in Percy's case; people, and the treatment of life in general. Even right now, the son of Chaos could feel a special connection to the goddess of the moon—although unfortunately he didn't know what kind of connection.

It was then that he sensed that daylight was coming. "Artemis, I think I've got to go."

The goddess forced a smile. "Me too, I think. Will I see you soon?"

He nodded surely. "Soon," he agreed. "This time I'll keep my promise," he finished sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

She rolled her eyes and gave him a little shove. "Of course you will. Goodbye for now."

He grinned at her and waved, at the same time fading from his spot. Artemis stared at it, waiting for her turn to wake up, but nothing happened. Just when she was starting to worry, she saw her surroundings blur, and then she knew she was waking.

* * *

**Yay! Again, sorry for the late update.**

**I was out because I was really, really busy. More so than the last time, 'cause our art teacher's stressing us like college students. I seriously hate that gay. Btw, another reason is because I was reading the HoH! I'm halfway, but it's already freaking awesome. What was your reaction about Nico's revelation?**

**Anyway, I don't think I'd be able to update this weekend. I'm still pretty much packed with work. But after that, I'm free! I'm free! For about a week. Only a week. And that, in my opinion, absolutely _sucks._**

**For matters about the story, I'm planning on making the demigods' life harder. Cue evil laugh. No; but seriously, I feel like they're getting off easy from the Ordians. So I'm going to add something that you might either like or love when you're a serious Percy fan, or hate when you're a CHB/CJ fan. Or anyone from CHB/CJ. Or the Hunters.**

***SPOILER ALERT***

**That said, I'm getting bored with the timeline. I don't have anymore things to tackle on Percy's 2nd half of the 1st part of his training. I don't know if that made sense, but yeah. So just to rile you up, I'm doing another time skip. This time, I'm going to look at Sally's family. And Poseidon's, perhaps. I mean, I haven't really given him a better reaction when Percy "died" so yeah, I'll zoom into them next chapter. And.. something's going to happen between _them_, if you know what I mean.**

***SPOILER OVER***

**Well, take care! Thanks for the late greeting cards! REVIEW!**

**~Smartzyfan**

_P.S: I should've posted this yesterday. And I was rushing. So I don't know if the title should be _Down To Earth_ or _Down On Earth._ Help?_


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